Global Mobility – The Challenges For HR In Delivering Mobile Talent!

The Global HR Summit Montreal is proud to present an exclusive session on Global Mobility – the Challenges for HR in Delivering Mobile Talent presented by Indi Sehra, the Director of Human Resources, London School of Economics and Political Science. Indi has also held a number of significant private and public sector appointments including HR Director of the Crown Prosecution Service and subsequently the Serious Organised Crime Agency (now NCA). Over recent years he has been involved with respective European Union Task Groups looking to overcome the barriers to mobility for Researchers and has most recently been on the task group to launch Resaver, a new European wide pension scheme for Research Institution.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your professional journey, how did you decide on HR?

I was born in a Sikh family with much expectations to follow the path of my cousins into medicine. Having shown little interest in the natural sciences, I went to university to follow a social sciences path and became particularly interested in psychology, behavioural science and organisational design. By the age of 21 I had a strong interest in HR and, subsequently went on to complete a relevant Masters Degree. I have been privileged in achieving the Director of HR role at the age of 33 with United Friendly Insurance Plc and held such a post in seven organisations. My experience includes nine years in the private sector (Financial Services), nine years in the Civil Services and nine years in Higher Education. In addition I now run Leadership and Change Management Interventions external to my employer organisation.

At the Global HR Trends Summit in Canada, you will be presenting on “Global Mobility – the Challenges for HR in Delivering Mobile Talent”, can you give us a bit of insights what the audience can expect from your topic?

I will be relying on some qualitative research carried out by the International Bar Associations Global Employment Institute on the “mobility challenge”, and implications of increasing global mobility of talented staff, the services HR provides and the changing skills professionals will need.

You have previously been an HR Director at Cambridge and currently you hold the same position at the London School Of Economics. You have also held several public sector appointments including HR Director of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (now NCA). How do the different roles in public and private sector compare in terms of HR?

There are some differences in the private and public sector, as to the skill base needed to succeed as an HR professional. Within the private sector, there are fewer strategic goals and often you can develop the motivation of people to succeed around market share or profitability. The passion among your employees can be enhanced through the “social cause” of what your organisation delivers and how it chooses to deliver it e.g. sustainability / environmental issues. Organisations partly or wholly funded by public money tend to have multiple objectives trying to deliver for multiple stakeholders. They will therefore tend to have more complex governance / decision making structures which in turn has implications for the competency sets for the HR professionals, with social skills, influencing and emotional intelligence being competencies much at play on a day-to-day basis.

What would be your advice to building a successful career in HR?

My advice would be to ensure individuals pursue the recognised qualifications of their country’s professional HR body. In addition, ensure they spread their intentions in the early career stage to both policy and operational roles. To succeed in HR you do need to be strong in policy drafting – Boards do not always give HR professionals the time to attend personally on every HR decision! And do practice being equally as good sharing the details as with the broad vision and strategy. The world of HR today, with an investigating regulatory framework means both skills are equally important – and they can be developed through practice and attention!

What are some of the projects, in terms of HR, that you have worked on are most proud of?

Yes, in addition to my role at LSE, I am the Independent Director on a Board at Resaver. For the last six years I have been working on an European Union project to have a pension scheme which is multi-employer, and multi-currency, especially for all organisations involved in Research across Europe. The idea being that Research professionals should be able to move between organisations across Europe and having the benefits of ongoing pension. This is the first of its kind and was launched last year, in a climate where many HR professionals believed it was too difficult and too complex to deliver. But it has been delivered!

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

A typical day – Wednesday 13 September

-            Morning meetings with the senior Management Team of HR, to agree the HR Operational Plan for the academic year 2017/18. Ensure it meets short term needs and will allow for satisfactory progress towards the 5 Year Strategic Plan (2016-2021)

-            Telephone meeting with the COO on preparation for the School Council away day – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, a key topic of discussion the following week.

-            Chaired HR System Board meeting on the progress being made to sickness absence and Leave request transactional process moving to an online system. In addition a new Procedure Management system for non-academic staff is being introduced.

-            Telephone call with Chair of LSE Council regarding the preparation for future meetings.

-            Attendance at the Town Hall meeting where Director/Vice Chancellor of LSE shares priorities with 400+ staff for the coming year.

-            Share success of LSE HR being selected in a government supported report on good Family Friendly Policies, which support returners following maternity leave, with key internal stakeholders.

You are presenting at the Global HR Trends Summit in Montreal this fall, what are your expectations from the destination?

Very much looking forward to the Global Summit and my first ever visit to Montreal. It will be a great opportunity to pick up ideas from Canadian colleagues in the same profession, and perhaps visit one or two Sikh temples (Gurdwaras)!

To hear more about Global Mobility and Indi, sign up for the Global HR Trends Summit Montreal!