Global
Through our On the Job series, we introduce some of the men and women who play a pivotal role in the success story charted by Ness. In this edition, Sylvia Walker describes her roles and responsibilities as an HR manager, changing trends in HR and what she likes about working at Ness.
Name & Title: Sylvia Walker, Manager, HR
My Role at Ness:
I am a Human Resource (HR) business partner for the Bangalore & APAC centers. As a Business HR (BHR) at Ness, I work closely with the leadership and delivery teams to run the charter of talent management. HR’s role is increasingly strategic and there is a renewed thrust on talent management, employee engagement, and new HR initiatives to drive greater business results. My role is focused on adding value in all of these areas, and the routine and strategic work that I do is aligned towards these larger objectives.
Specific Responsibilities of My Role:
My role entails aligning business objectives with employees and management in designated business units. Regular interactions with employees as well as management keep me in sync with expectations at both ends, and help me drive HR initiatives to larger business goals, address gaps, and facilitate better collaboration. At Ness, people are our strongest asset, and the HR team is strongly focused on designing, implementing and supporting various employee-related programs and activities to drive better work engagement and results for the people and the organization.
Key Trends in HR:
In a continuously evolving business environment, we are expected to constantly align goals of different functions and units to match with changing business needs. We strive to find effective ways to optimize HR resources, improve processes, and plan initiatives for delivering maximum value to employees and the organization. One of the key trends is the growing focus on determining how metrics can be used in further analysis on streamlining HR processes, measuring effectiveness through results and business impact through ROIs, and becoming more predictive in responding to changing business scenarios.
Learnings from My Current Role:
I have been with Ness for close to five years. During this time, I have had the opportunity to gather multi-dimensional experiences that have greatly enhanced my skills and expertise –transitioning from the HR operations team to learning and development to Global HR, and now working with the business HR team. The broad range of positions has enabled me to understand the needs of different functions and collaborate more effectively with stakeholders.
What I Like About Working at Ness:
Ness is committed to promoting a healthy and congenial working environment. Each day is a different learning experience for me and I feel that my opinions are valued, which is a constant encouraging factor. We also need to adopt and implement strategic initiatives, while seeing that regular HR activities go on smoothly. I am glad that I can manage both with the confidence and support I get from my mentors and team.
Some Interesting Facts about me:
When I am not working, I like to unwind by spending time on gardening and cooking.
