Quick Chat with Nathan S V

HR is all about empowering people and enabling them to give their best, says Mr Nathan SV, Partner and Chief Talent Officer at Deloitte India. Over a conversation that left me awestruck at the power of humility and simplicity, qualities that anyone knowing him would want to emulate, Mr Nathan speaks about the challenges facing HR, power of Social Media and leaders who inspired him. I was almost in jitters while I was attentively listening to him. A befitting interview to start on a high note & with loads of inspiration! 

What made you think of a career in HR and what is it that keeps you doing what you do?

An interesting question to start with! Well, I remember that I got a seat in Engineering college but because of financial constraints, I had to do my graduation in Mathematics, post which I started applying in all management institutes for business management course and I could crack XLRI (Jamshedpur). I remember I was a topper at XL and, also the best outgoing student of my college where I did my maths. I had not thought of HR, but as I got into XLRI, I discovered it was my calling.

As an HR professional, it is extremely gratifying to enable people and  help them discover their real potential and see their knowledge and skills translate into meaningful action. I take sincere pride in making this journey of helping many discover their strengths. Their stories I use in getting the best in everyone and show them what they are truly capable of.

Being a HR leader, it is also satisfying to see the increase the number of women in the workforce and see them grow. I have great respect towards  entrepreneurs too, successful or otherwise. I firmly believe there is no one called a failed entrepreneur - just a learned entrepreneur,who can bring in so much of exposure and learning. I have happily welcomed many who wanted to return to work in  the organisations I had represented. I see this as important as in a way it helps them gets them restore their confidence.

What do you think are the main challenges facing HR professionals over the next five years?

I see huge changes happening at our workplaces. Everything around us is changing. The way we work is changing, the place of work is changing, the workforce is changing and the business dynamics are changing. Amidst all these changes it becomes very important that the talent organisations have stay relevant to the times and only an HR professional can help employees to learn, unlearn and relearn things. HR needs to pay attention to what our employees need at any given point in time vis-à-vis the dynamics of the business and industry and help employees to continuously reinvent themselves and positively respond to the changes. HR needs to become tech savvy and business savvy to see how they can translate their knowledge of people translate into business outcomes, through people.

What according to you are the top 2 HR competencies you would prefer over other competencies?

First comes a strong business understanding and the ability to translate their needs that  contributes to its success. Second, being passionate with what we do. 

What are your thoughts on HR using social media in the workplace?

We encourage our team to use social media in productive ways. I already see recruiters spending good amount of time on LinkedIn but that’s a wonderful way to network. The Social media also helps in understanding people and their thought process.  If you are not on social media, I think you miss out on lot of good information which might be useful for you and your division or your business. We need to be there! IT is a great platform to build and be part of a community that is self regulatory in nature and giving more than asked for. Social Medial is a dis intermediator and a great leveller. You need anyone’s permission to ask for your help or state your position.

How important are strong interpersonal skills to a person?

Interpersonal skills are essential for building any relationship. Relationships drive the business and at its base is Trust. Building this takes time. It is the greatest way to connect, externally and internally within your family too. Many business are built on this account and many have come to nought in its absence.

The challenges of finding and keeping talent aren’t going away anytime soon. If HR could only do one thing that would have the fastest impact, what would it be?

It is important that we make every single employee feel that they are an important part of the organization and that they are continuously growing.  Always make feel every employee important and make them feel that they are growing as a part of themselves.

What piece of advice would you give to job-seekers looking to join Deloitte?

• We like to see confident people. So always be confident about yourself. 
• We like to see certain amount of enthusiasm, energy and how much initiative they are willing to take.
• Communication and clarity of thought are essential to a successful professional. I like to see how well articulated one is!
• Last and the most important, being self motivated and the enthusiasm in every work they do.

What are some of the important do’s and don’ts at a job interview?

• Never show up late.
• Be well groomed. How well dressed you are for a meeting reflects the effort you have made in meeting that person. Appearance is important, so make sure that your dress is well ironed and shoes clean.
• Read about the company and know the profile and role well.
• Always understand the question before responding to it.
• Don’t be impolite and don’t show signs of disinterest.
• Lastly when you get to ask a question, ask something interesting and relevant. Do not ask about pay hike, promotions or something irrelevant. Saying you have nothing to ask could reflect negatively on you too. So take some time and ask a good question because it always leaves a good impression behind!

Few things about leaders who have inspired you...

First my mother, she is a great CEO. She taught us the meaning of a family and bonding. She helped us get the best of education, she knew the right control and empowerment. She taught us how to be incredibly good and be at the top, whatever we are doing. Even now, in in her old age, she had amazing energy around her and did everything with such fondness! She kept relationships alive and made new ones.

The other person who inspired me was one of my bosses during my initial days of career who taught me to value and to stand for people, and the need to go out of way to help and support the team. He is a fine man who I always want to talk about. There was an incident where my MD was very disappointed on me and spoke to me very rudely when my boss rushed to my rescue and said that he was accountable for what had happened and asked me to leave. It left such a mark on my mind and my heart and that day I learnt the importance of standing up for the work we do and the team we work with.

An such inspirational leader I worked with was Dr. S.K. Verma. The story of our first meeting happened outside a railway station where I spotted a man in shorts standing by a car. I explained to him why I was there and asked if I could be dropped at a particular location. He helped me with the luggage and drove me, speaking to me in Hindi all along. Once we reached the guest house I saw people saluting him. I was aghast to discover that he is one of the leaders in ICI. Yet he was so down to earth and full of humility, a trait I would like to take that with me wherever I go.

 How much do you focus on the employer brand? How can we help our organizations understand that branding today isn’t the same as branding was ten years ago?

Internal branding is something what I love to do and help people with. A company is healthy only if the people there do a great job. If you don’t let people know what they are doing, why they are working with us, why they should take pride in working with us, if you don’t communicate and keep instilling this in people and appreciate them for the difference they have made to your organization then the feeling of taking pride dies. It is very important for them to believe and take pride in working for the organization. If they don’t then HR is failing somewhere.

For people to know the value of a brand, the employees who are the first brand advocates, need to trust the brand. Pride in employees to work for that organization is an asset for the company and the brand, something which the HR needs to build on continuously. In today’s world, your employees needs to be connected with the business to ensure success.

I believe internal communications are vital in bringing about this pride in the employees. Create unique content for the communications. Today everyone spreads messages about the organisations, so why not get them truly ready... Free up your team to blog, and don’t just allow them--prepare and encourage them.

You can make your employees extend your brand presence and using your products out of the company environment is a sign that your internal branding is working pretty well.

Make employees the stars of your campaigns, featuring their stories as examples of how we go beyond the day to day job to help customers. Kindly don’t make things or campaigns superficial. Believe in them, make them come alive.

you can follow him on:

linkedin: @nathansv

twitter: @Nathansv ?