Ambika Wadhwa, CPO, Gourmet Investments speaks to India Employer Forum about learning and development, people management and more.
Q. Please tell us a little about your professional journey focusing on what you would describe as the key highlights in your career.
With a career spanning over 18+ years, I have been fortunate to have worked with various industry leaders. Each role that I have managed holds a special place in my heart and has meaningfully contributed to a successful journey. Setting up tech centres for Jabong & Uber was a phenomenal experience. Partnering with various educational institutes & engaging in conversations with students across genres has been very fulfilling. The IPO journey at Campus Activewear was nothing short of a roller coaster ride and contributed to immense learning and provided me with an opportunity to do things I had never done before.
Highlights in my career at a personal level have always been about people & having the opportunity to drive change with & within them by :
- Driving culture-building strategies across levels in various organisations
- Helping employees identify purpose while working and performing to their highest potential has been very satisfying
- Partnering with investors and board of directors & establishing a professional code of conduct and minimising external risks across organisations
If I were to count the number of employees across my career (as head HR) then I had the opportunity of impacting over 20k people 🙂
Q. You have experience working with different brands, what according to you are the similarities concerning managing people in all these organisations?
Managing people across various organisations involves some core similarities, despite differences in industry, size, or culture. Cultivating a strong organisational culture that aligns with the company’s values and promotes inclusivity is important across all organisations. This influences employee morale, productivity, and retention. Identifying a purpose for the organisation and its people plays a critical role in managing teams in any organisation. An intrinsically motivated employee force automatically finds pride and a sense of belonging and pushes themselves to their highest potential.
Q. Do you feel with the rise of automation, there is a significant skill gap among employees that needs to be addressed?
Automation technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning are transforming industries and reshaping job roles. Technical skills in programming, data analysis, cybersecurity, and proficiency in using automation tools and software. Employees would need to be digitally literate to collaborate online, effectively navigate digital platforms & utilise digital tools. With automation comes ethical considerations related to data privacy, bias in algorithms, and the societal impact of technology. Employees would need skills related to ethical decision-making and maintaining an unmatchable human-centric approach in their work. Employees, on their part, would need to embrace lifelong learning and proactively seek opportunities to develop new skills that are relevant in an increasingly automated world.
Q. Do you see any changes in trends for investment in L&D activities? Is there an increase in L&D funding to facilitate skill development or has it reduced given the high attrition rates?
In my view, L&D now has a far larger role than ever to play. Organisations are focussing on the ROI of every intervention. Hence organisations are navigating towards building a continuous learning culture which involves personalised learning experiences(podcasts, videos etc), Microlearning (bite-sized learning modules), Digital & remote learning (functional skills to perform better at work, Non-functional skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence etc are on the rise). Diversity & Inclusion, Collaborative working and Social learning are newer ways of ensuring employees upskill themselves.
Q. In your view, what traits correlate more strongly with success across various organisational hierarchies and levels?
I feel the below are critical to the success of any organisation:
- Clear Vision – Both Long term & short term
- Ability to delegate effectively – Using not the authority but the art of influencing to guide team members to deliver consistently.
- Accountability & Responsibility – Owning up to one’s decisions.
- Emotional intelligence – Using the mind to decide and the heart to execute
- Ethical mindset – Upholding ethical standards, demonstrating integrity, and making principled decisions aligning with organisational values contribute to long-term success.
- Resilience I feel is most critical, the ability to bounce back is the most essential trait to instil confidence in the organisation after any failure.
About Ambika Wadhwa
As a member of the Management Team, Ambika leads the people and talent agenda to drive business growth and facilitate organisational transformation. This involved implementing innovative practices for engaging a digital workforce and optimising HR functions. She is accountable for devising talent strategies across business verticals. As a senior leader with diverse experience, her primary goal is to cultivate a workplace conducive to hyper-transformative growth and establish the organisation as an employer of choice. She plays a crucial role in collaborating with business leaders to navigate the transformation journey and shape the people strategy, focusing on organisational design and structure.
Currently, heading people & culture at Gourmet Investments, a Bharti venture. She leads the talent strategy and people agenda. She brings extensive industry experience spanning retail, technology, internet, and consumer sectors. Before joining Gourmet Investments, she held positions at prominent companies such as Campus Activewear, Uber, Reliance, Rocket Internet, and Sangam Ventures, leading teams across different regions.
An avid proponent of the cause of developing children & women across walks of society, Ambika lends her time to mentoring children/ women and educating them. She has worked across multiple self-help groups in various parts of the country to support the cause.
