Sanjay Mathur
HR Development Director
SYSTRA
Overview
HR Development Director who believes in standing by employees with empathy and support, seeing them reciprocate. Has witnessed HR evolution from Industrial Relations to People and Culture, emphasizing the need to keep pace with change.
Perspective
Over his career, has seen the evolution and growth of the HR function by leaps and bounds—from 'Industrial Relations' to 'Personnel Management' to 'Human Resources' and now 'People and Culture'. A lot has changed in how the workforce is driven and encouraged. With experience across industries and witnessing this shift over the years, believes the key for success for HR professionals is to 'keep pace with the change'.
Key themes
- Standing by employees with empathy and support
- Reciprocation through employee loyalty and engagement
- Keeping pace with HR evolution and change
- Continuous learning and knowledge upgrading
- Building strong foundations and domain expertise
Quote
“When you stand-by your employees, when you empathize and support them, they reciprocate.”
Advice for HR professionals
- Be open to learn—reading is particularly helpful, whether offline or online.
- Always seek help, guidance, and feedback from peers, juniors, and senior management.
- Keep child-like curiosity to know more and understand better.
- Constantly upgrade your knowledge—don't wait for people to nudge you, you would risk getting left behind.
- Have trust and faith in your organization—don't resort to quick fixes, look for quality and sustainability.
- Fundamentals are important, so keep your foundations on any subject in your industry strong.
- Becoming an expert is more lucrative rather than being a generalist these days, so develop deeper domain knowledge.