The last couple of decades has seen a rise in the number of women business leaders that has been guiding their respective business organization towards sustained success in the industry. Sushma Bhatt is one such professional that has been able to create her own path towards success and this pioneering HR leader has been able to leave a lasting impact on all the various organizations that she has been a part of.

Sushma currently holds the office of Director of International HR at Quotient Technology and in an exclusive conversation with Women Entrepreneur, she talks more about her professional journey as a pioneering HR leader.

1. Can you elaborate more on your educational and professional background?

After completing my MBA in HR and marketing, I started my career working for a consulting firm after which I moved to Yahoo where I worked for eight successful years. I worked on multiple facets with the company which helped me to diversify my skillsets and expand my horizons. While working at Yahoo, I developed an interest to work in HR and after experiencing that, I was keen on learning more about HR and the art of getting individuals to work together to achieve organizational goals. After leaving Yahoo, I worked at Citrix for close to three years and I got the opportunity to set up their business operations in India. After Citrix, I have been with Quotient Technology for six years now and I had to build the entire operations of the company in India from scratch. I saw that as an opportunity to showcase my skills and learn more and now, I have been able to grow the company from zero to 400 plus employees.

Understanding my abilities, the company also entrusted me with the responsibility of taking care of the HR operations that include international hiring as well.

2. What is the current market landscape of the Indian HR space and how have you been coping with the covid19 scenario? Also, what developments do you foresee in the industry?

The entire global HR landscape has seen a paradigm shift after the covid19 pandemic outbreak and the same can be said for the Indian HR space as well. For us, the mental health of our employees has been the topmost priority and during the lockdown, we have identified the prevalent gaps in the domain and have started to offer personalized training to the employees to develop their skillsets and to keep them engaged. Apart from this, to keep our employees motivated, we have been supporting them during these unprecedented times and addressing their grievances in a timely manner. We want our employees to know that the company will always support them during these tough times. Also, the importance of data analytics has been increasing over the years and I believe that HR professionals should give major emphasis on the data that is available to them. Another trend that I am personally aiming to implement in my organization is the incorporation of AI tools for recruiters. I also believe that in the future, marketing and branding will become an integral part of the HR function and organizations will have to think about the branding aspects of HR as well.

“I believe that in the future, marketing and branding will become an integral part of the hr function and organizations will have to think about the branding aspects of hr as well”

3. Elaborate on your roles and responsibilities at quotient technology

When I started with Quotient Technology, I was managing the various HR functions as well as the realestate operations of the company. Later, owing to my experience and expertise in leading a business, I was able to go up the ladder and take on various other responsibilities when it comes to international HR of the company as well. Apart from all this, I also have the site responsibility of the company’s entire operations in India too.

4. What are your future plans?

Having a goal and working towards that goal has helped me to have a successful professional journey and as a person who strives to learn constantly and reinvent myself, goals have played a crucial role in both my personal and professional development. As of now, my short-term goal is to get stronger on the leadership aspect of business operations and in the long run, I see immense development opportunities at Quotient Technology for me. As a business leader of the company, I also have various plans to develop Quotient Technology and take it to the next level. In the meantime, I also want to learn about more markets and build on my profile in the long run.

5. What Would Be Your Advice To The Budding Hr Professionals Of Tomorrow?

One thing that is not taught to us during our academic life is the importance of being flexible and versatile. Learning just the theories won’t make you a top-notch HR professional and a lot of young people today has a different mindset. They think what they are being taught is the real world but this is not the case and they have to be prepared to face the challenges that they will come across in the industry. Educational institutions should also prioritize on offering practical job-oriented education to their students in order to bridge the prevalent industry-academia gap.

Sushma Bhatt, Director Of International HR, Quotient Technology

Being the visionary she is, Sushma has been able to come up with innovative and effective HR strategies and processes to elevate the operations of Quotient Technology to a greater level.