Exclusive Interview with Jeyamalini Natesan, Head, HR & OHS, Huhtamaki India

 

In an exclusive interview with HR.com, Jeyamalini shares what has been driving her for the past 20 years in HR, and what she has learned over the years.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: What has your HR journey been like and what influenced you the most to have a positive impact on your career?

Jeyamalini: My HR journey has been exciting, with several possibilities for learning, sharing, and growth. I have had the good fortune to work in a variety of industries, including consulting, automotive, banking and financial services, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, chemical manufacturing, and, most recently, the packaging sector. 

I also worked for a startup for a brief time. All of these experiences have been quite beneficial in terms of learning and applying some of the greatest people practices in the firms I have worked. 

I have also had the opportunity to work in large MNCs, driving the people transformation agenda for business growth. These experiences have given me a thorough understanding of not just diverse company models, markets, and strategies, but also how HR can be changed to move to a more progressive level in order to bring corporate success.
 

Q: What were your challenges during the early days of your career? What are those today?

Jeyamalini: I was lucky to have had a strong start to my career working directly with MDs and CEOs. So, I understand what the company wants from HR.  HR issues may arise on a daily basis since we work with individuals, and everyone is unique and has different degrees of expectations from the business. 

The capacity to be agile and think outside the box in order to give solutions, while maintaining the values of the organization and meeting employee expectations, are critical. So, hurdles are opportunities for me.

Q: How do you see workplace culture evolving over the years?

Jeyamalini: An important thing that remains constant is "Change," and the sooner we recognize this, the more prepared we will be to deal with the ever-changing culture. Every company is unique and has its own culture, which is driven by individuals, who are change agents.

The Covid-19 pandemic taught us to flourish in situations we had never encountered before, and we still managed to recover. Today's workplace is much more advanced, with employees questioning the "purpose of going to work," thus we must make it meaningful and interesting for them. 

Flexibility and adaptability have become key drivers and employees are clearly looking for work life balance and organizations have embraced this very quickly placing employee wellbeing as one of the key priorities as well as accelerating the use of technology to drive efficiency and productivity.

Q: Can you share the top three learnings from the challenges you faced?

Jeyamalini: 

1. Continuous learning is important because when you stop learning, you stop growing. 
2. We need to stay modest and grounded—this enables one to communicate with reality and stay focused. 
3. Always focus on sharing data and ensure to take key decisions backed by information with data.

Q: Where do you draw inspiration from? What do you have to say to those who are still struggling to find a place in the boardroom?

Jeyamalini: Every day is an opportunity to learn and accomplish something new. I have learned to see the good in everyone and to enjoy the little things in life. "The attitude of gratitude” is what motivates me. The world is full of opportunities we need to be able to identify those opportunities. There is no compromise for hard work. 

Q: Where do you draw the line when it comes to work-life balance?

Jeyamalini: As long as you enjoy what you do and set your priorities right, you have got your balance right as well. We need to find a purpose in everything we do; it will help maintain the balance in life.

Q: What fundamental change(s) (in terms of culture) have you brought into your company?

Jeyamalini: At Huhtamaki India, we strongly believe in championing community building that gives employees a sense of belonging, nurturing, leading to overall productivity and a happy working environment. We have been able to build a progressive work culture that is driven by performance. I feel proud to say that the work environment at Huhtamaki India is engaging, happy and supports employee well-being and development.

At Huhtamaki India, our employees are extended families, where the provision of a safe and secure work environment is the biggest priority. We instill strong values of Appreciation & Encouragement and our HR initiatives have been specially crafted to aid our valued employees to make a better version of themselves with every passing day.

Our employee recognition and gratification go beyond the confines of the workplace. We participate in their joys and celebrations, be it weddings, birth of a newborn or student education. In times of emergencies, we have their back with constant support through our programs. We aim to see our employees grow and prosper and create similar initiatives for our employees to not only enjoy the job but feel at home with Huhtamaki. 

Q: What are some major changes you see affecting HR within the next few years?

Jeyamalini: The industry has witnessed major changes in the past few years. Due to the pandemic, employees got used to working from home for almost two years. While a mixed fraction of employees still prefer working from an office, many discovered that they were happier and productive working from home.  

Companies must be able to bring in a suitable option and flexibility for such scenarios. Equally, HRs must come out with favorable policies for the employees to continue working from office. There have been increased expectations in employees post the pandemic and they prefer working with companies that are offering benefits related to health and wellness, mental health, family provisions, etc. 

We feel that remote working will continue to stay in the coming years. Other changes will include more importance on employee wellness programs, employee development and training programs to have a skilled workforce. I also feel that the great resignation will continue to be a challenge and companies will continue to struggle for getting efficient employees. 
 

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