“Unlearning, learning and relearning will keep you going up the career ladder”- George Cardoz

What started as an HR project with Forbes Marshall ended with George Cardoz, a native Goan, supporting the organization as its Head HR for over a decade. His role required him to engage and deal with worker unions early on in his career. Working with them to achieve organizational objectives was an accomplishment in itself, George says. The feather in the hat came with his contribution to two wage settlements as did his involvement in the core implementation team of an HRMS.

His next stints took him to Fujitsu, Xpanxion and Sears. Fujitsu exposed him to the IT-HR field, revolving around the entire gamete of CHRO.

As Forbes Marshall was setting up another base in Jharkhand, they called George to support them in talent management. Just as the project was heading towards completion, he was offered the role of the Head of Recruitment.

“There are no turning points, only crossroads,” George said when asked the question. A true people-person, George narrates the time when an intern’s creative wits largely helped to stabilize the business needs. “She had a different thought process to a problem the organization was facing. Even though she wasn’t from HR, she helped ideate solutions to drive initiatives for productivity through a gamified approach. We replicated the IPL model, and the model ran successfully for 3 years.”

In his tenure as a Human Resource professional, George realized that every vertical within the business spoke a different language. And so did the HR. To get things moving, translating the ideas was important. He ensured that for every new initiative the gaps between the department involved and the HR were securely bridged. This way, line managers understood the mindset behind a specific plan and contributed towards making value addition easier.

A certified ODCP practitioner, George believes in the power of learning and having one on one interactions with different stakeholders, right from the CEO to union workers. His stance on the following remains his strengths:

• Is there a way to complete a task better or faster than yesterday? If the answer is no, then go and find that way
• Be open to learning. Take up whatever opportunities come your way
• There is always room for trial
• A new ‘you’ is required for every new level you step into. Keep reinventing yourself

From 1995 to the present, George has been working to empower the HR function for 28 years now. Having mentored multiple HR aspirants in the last 28 years, George plans to move into a consultative role in the next 3 years. He says that 3-years visibility is a good time to set your goals.

HR to George is on the similar lines of its implication to Forbes Marshall. He defines HR as Human Relations. He calls it so because he believes that “resources” are often exploited while “relations” aren’t. They are nurtured and paid attention to.