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Janhavi Sukhtankar

  1. Janhavi Sukhtankar is an executive leader with rich and diverse experience of over 25 years in Human Resources domain.
  2. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts (Sociology Honours) from St. Xavier’s College and a Master’s degree in Labour Studies from Mumbai University.
  3. Janhavi has a demonstrated history of working across geographies and industries in healthcare companies like Sanofi Pharmaceuticals and Glaxo India as well as Greenpeace International, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  4. She has been associated with Lodha Group for nearly 10 years and currently heads the Human Resources function as President – HR.
  5. In addition to being a great HR leader and ESG champion at Lodha, the value that Janhavi brings to the table includes business acumen, building critical business capabilities, collaborating with senior leaders, coaching, and building a trust-based culture.
  6. Janhavi has been recognised as a key HR leader and Top Women in Real Estate by various awards’ like Top HR Minds, NAREDCO to name a few.
  7. Janhavi is a people leader who believes in facilitating a positive, productive and meritocratic culture at the workplace.

Our Exclusive Interview:

What the HR needs to do in order to drive more value in the VUCA world?

I don’t think people want the VUCA world to exist anymore. They have moved on from finding ways to thrive in the VUCA world and are now looking at stability, peace of mind, security, being near their loved ones and overall a joyful environment without much stress.

Post Covid, employees are looking at empathy, warmth, connect and significant demonstration of EQ and SQ from everyone, not just their employers and HR but from all those who are a part of their personal and professional ecosystem.

HR has finally come of age during Covid and has done what truly needs to be done for its employees and has created a greater value for itself.

How have you leveraged technological innovation, particularly with resourcing and recruitment?

Online interviews and selection was the only choice left when the pandemic hit and we quickly adapted to this new mode of resourcing and recruitment. We have seen a very high number and quality of new hires during the last 2 years which also indicates that we have been able to leverage technology for sourcing and onboarding quite well.

As an HR Leader, what are the key deliverables that can be instrumental for a firm to be successful?

It is essential to understand the DNA of the organization, embed it with the culture tenets and then carve out key deliverables. The ability to hire and retain right talent is key for the success of any organization.

E.g. if an organization is able to attract talent but not able to retain, it is important to understand whether culturally the organization is aggressive/passive and whether people are not able to sustain the pressure/getting bored. In that case, select talent that is able to thrive in your culture, don’t go just by their academics or achievements. Evaluate their past achievements and learn more about the environments in which they have flourished so far.

We have heard a lot about D&I, what does it mean to you and what are you doing about it?

For us D&I is way beyond just being a gender neutral organisation. Equal opportunities for our women employees even at construction sites, women friendly policies etc. have been existing in the organisation for very long. As the popular saying goes, ‘Diversity is having a seat, inclusion is having a voice’, we believe in creating a safe, comfortable space for everyone to have a firm voice irrespective of their gender or background or any trait that differentiates them from others. At the same time, we are sensitive to the needs of our women associates or associates with special needs and have friendly and flexible policies to help them excel at the workplace.

What are some of the key drivers that you see as an HR that is actually driving the business growth and success?

1.  Hiring and retaining talent and thus building a solid talent pipeline

2. Enhancing employee experience by providing a digitized environment but ensuring balance with human connect

3. Providing growth via learning, career opportunities

4. Rewards and recognition to augment employee retention and increase engagement

5. Building a strong culture of continuous feedback and promoting it consistently

The role of HR leaders has changed over the years. How do you see the role of HR leaders evolve by 2025?

The biggest success for HR is to create great people managers who act as HR for their employees and employees no longer feel the need to go to HR. Their managers should become their guide, mentor, ‘go to person’ and make them feel belonged to the organization.

The role of HR leaders should evolve to take the place of advisors, mentors, coaches and guides to add value to the business from a people front.

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