Chetna Gogia, Chief Human Resources Officer at GoKwik: “Go deep in acquiring the right knowledge before you advise on HR practices to management”

Sometimes we suggest reading our interviews with HR leaders with a cup of tea. Sit back, and relax. This time, we suggest standing up whilst downing an espresso, Italy-style. Chetna Gogia, Chief Human Resources Officer at GoKwik, has over 20 years of experience in leading and managing HR functions — and you will get this distilled into a short, sharp read.

The main takeaways? As always, people are at the heart of everything: as Chetna hammers home, keeping talented employees motivated is the key. And she has post-pandemic lessons to share here. But in the spirit of GoKwik itself — a company that wants to unlock 10x growth for its clients — let’s dither no more. Read on to discover what Chetna has to say.

Related reading: Hiring for success: the case for skills and attitude

Tell us about your role at Gokwik

Currently, I work in the capacity of CHRO at GoKwik. I drive the HR agenda in a fast-growing and dynamic platform that solves shopping experience problems on e-commerce websites using AI and machine learning. I manage end-to-end HR functions which involve working on org development, culture, people practices, talent, PMS and strategic HR.

What made you pursue a career in HR? And what advice do you have for anyone considering a career in HR?

I love being a people person and enjoy solving hard problems for any company that wants to invest in culture and build a productive workforce.

Advice would be to choose a specialisation in HR and go deep in acquiring the right knowledge before you advise on HR practices to management.

We hear about terms like quiet quitting and lazy Jane jobs, indicating a shift in employees’ approach to work post-pandemic. Is this something you’ve seen at your work? And how are you reacting to it?

Negligence of employee well-being affects employee mental health and quiet quitting is a response after feeling exhausted from unmanaged workplace stress. There are ways to prevent quiet quitting and we applied them at GoKwik, notably, by introducing bi-annual performance reviews, managing expectations early on, promoting learning opportunities and introducing a stronger reward and recognition program.

Post-pandemic, what are your thoughts on hybrid work trends and how do you think they’ll shape the upcoming years? 

The pandemic has prepped companies to work in remote/hybrid/flexible trends. In the coming years, employees will choose to work for companies that are more hybrid or remote in nature. Being remote gives freedom and flexibility to employees to stay with family and work from anywhere without spending much time travelling.

Related reading: Future of work – what does it hold?

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and how has it shaped your career?

The best advice that I can recall was in HR you should sympathise with people and understand people’s concerns. This has shaped my career in managing difficult conversations in a much better way and being a more people-centric person.

What are the top three challenges HR professionals face today? 

The biggest challenge is hiring the right talent for the company. The second is retaining the top-performing talent and, the third, developing leadership to ensure they become effective leaders and make the team perform the best.

What do you think has been the most significant way in which technology has impacted HR?

Technology has impacted HR in many ways. Today, effective recruiting cannot happen without the use of tech, data management has become paper-free and critical analysis — like performance data — can be easily analysed by HR IT tools and readily accessible to everyone.  

What do you perceive are some of the risks of deploying AI in the workplace?

AI can cause privacy violations and algorithmic bias, caused by bad data, can lead to disaster rather than anything productive. AI sometimes causes a lack of transparency and creativity. Although AI has been tasked with creating everything from computer code to visual art, it lacks original thought.