Rajshree Jain’s unwavering quest to forge bonds
When Rajshree Jain got behind a machine at a manufacturing unit, it shocked many.
Pulling levers, jabbing buttons and monitoring the assembly line – What was an HR doing there! Aren’t they supposed to stick to managing attendance, payrolls and performance?
“This was my way of learning about business. You acquire knowledge by doing,” explains Ms. Rajshree, an HR adviser based in Jaipur, India.
While machines need oil to keep running, humans need something different to fuel them. “Emotions. Humans run on emotions,” she quips. “So, maintaining a connection with people is essential.”
When times get tough, calmness and composure get her through. Her admirers on LinkedIn testify to this: ‘Smiling face’, ‘full of passion’, ‘spreads positivity around’.
The Turning Point
Ms. Rajshree, educated in marketing and finance, forayed into HR in her second job.
But she was not sure of the field as yet. Then came an opportunity to scale the workforce of an automobile equipment firm.
As the firm planned to expand to fuel delivery modules from cooling equipment, fresh hands – motivated and fit for the role – were needed. “We were able to find the talent,” she reminisces. “During expansion, it is essential to bring the right people in the organization.”
And that was it. The thrill of interacting with people, the most important asset for any organization, and resolving their concerns helped her discover her true calling.
Still, she refuses to let go of her moorings: marketing. “The skills I learnt as part of marketing education help in communication and building rapport with people,” she reasons, adding that HR is a blend of emotions and marketing. “You sell your thoughts, your organization’s brand.”
Keeping Cool
In 2011, Ms. Rajshree began heading the HR department of a 600-employee packaging company. At 31, she was the youngest among department heads there.
This time, she leveraged her learnings from a former manager: Keep calm and cool, always.
“In the automobile equipment firm, I observed how my manager functioned and maintained their calm. You need to fix things with a cool head,” she says.
Next comes the knowledge of your field. “Knowing your domain well gives you confidence. As a result, you become independent in your work. And you are taken seriously by everyone,” she says, while explaining how she navigates the HR leadership space as a woman.
Connecting the Dots
More than 200 locations, 1,500 employees, how do you get the pulse of each of them?
The predicament of keeping everyone connected, across geographies, and listening to their concerns confronted Ms. Rajshree at Voylla Fashions Pvt. Ltd.
Each week, she explains, her team members spoke to at least 300 employees on the
call or WhatsApp. “This helped us understand the working of our employees across India. We were able to resolve many issues before they blew up,” she says.
Further, this even aided HRs’ understanding of the business. “We were able to tell which product was working in the market and which wasn’t,” she claims.
What is HR to Rajshree?
To create a performance-driven organization, it is essential to have an unbiased culture, she asserts. “As an HR, you should make people feel they can and will grow,” she advises.
Going forward, Ms. Rajshree strives to work towards the empowerment of the gig economy. “We are planning to provide best HR practices in tier 2-3 cities by developing a training brand and a gig employment company,” she says.
