Dr. Sanjay Muthal is a visionary entrepreneur and business leader known for his passion towards Human Resources, leadership development and technological innovation. He has built a successful career spanning four decades during which he has led the Human Resources function at several large multinational Corporations and Indian Business Houses. The last decade has seen him embark on an entrepreneurial journey that has been characterised by a relentless pursuit of innovation, a commitment to excellence and a focus on creating value for all stakeholders. He is widely respected in the business community for his thought leadership and deep network of relationships.
He is currently the CEO of ArgoLynx Consulting LLP – a boutique executive search and business consulting firm and also an independent director and a Board member of several organizations, including India’s largest Life Insurance Corporation – LIC (subsidiary). Furthermore, he is Advisor to the Board at Refyne – India’s first employee, financial wellness, Fin-Tech organisation.
His other areas of interest include management education, coaching & mentoring and keynotes at various international conferences. He is an avid traveler and invests his leisure time in pursuing his musical interests. He has recently been conferred with the Global Power Leader Award 2024 presented at the British Parliament – House of Lords, London. The HRM Nepal had a comprehensive conversation with Muthal on different dimensions of human resource management. Excerpts:
Q. How would you like to share reflections briefly while working as corporate HR leader for three decades?
A. Reflecting on three decades as a corporate leader, I have undoubtedly witness significant transformation in HR field. Some of the key areas are evolution of HR from administrative to Strategy grow; impact of technology. The digital revolution is changing the HR landscape; the changing workforce demographics. The workforce today is more diverse. The DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is become very critical in managing today’s workforce and the inclusive culture is the base for DEI. Further, the rise of remote and hybrid work, subsequently, employee well-being, intruding mental health at workplace. This is now the most critical part of the charter that HR leader has to deal with. Moreover, talent management and succession planning is another fundamental to deal with. Earlier days mostly training programmes which were generate today, there is a sharper focus on continuous learning, leadership, development, and career planning. Most important element is the importance of employer branding. Previously we did not focus much on employment branding. Today it’s very critical to attract top talent. Next is increase, focus on ethics and compliance. In fact, three decades in HR have really taught me importance of adaptability, emotional intelligence, and being a change agent within the organisation.
Q. What are the major differences you’ve noticed in multinational and national companies?
A. The differences between multinational corporation and national companies are numerous. Mostly, these are dimensions like geography, scope, operations, legal frameworks, culture, and strategy. I would believe scope of operations is a major differentiator so is market reach as MNCs have global customer base mostly national companies focus on domestic markets. Although today we are also seeing a lot of Indian multinationals.
Likewise, regulatory environment, workforce, composition, capital, and financial management there is huge difference. The most important difference between these two is cultural diversity and associated challenges. MNCs have large multicultural multi ethnicity, workforce and therefore managing them is that much more challenging similar copper structures in MNCs are complex and decentralised whereas in local companies, it could be more centralised and simplified. Profit distribution wise for MNC, there is repatriation issues domestic. It is generally much easier to handle.
In confusion, while the immense is the national companies, both play critical roles in economy, their challenges, strategies structures significantly due to the scale of their operation operations and the complexity of their global versus domestic focus
Q. As an influential HR leader, how are you contributing in shaping an amiable HR culture in India and abroad?
A. As a nature leader, personally, I have had many opportunities to work both in India and abroad, and in some way contribute to setting up HR culture in several impactful areas.
(i) Advertising strategy, leadership, (ii) championing, diversity, equity, and inclusion, (iii) shaping talent, developmental leadershippipelines. Talent management is very critical to capitalise competitive advantage whether you work in India or elsewhere, any corporation has is its people; (iv) 4. promoting the adoption of technology technology in HR, both India and international work in HR in walls, high digitisation, including advanced HR, IT, recruitment tools, and people analytics; (v) shipping remote work and flexible work culture – post Covid remote work is become part of every organisation. It involves creating new set of processes, systems and work culture; (vi) building employee well-being programs; (vii) driving organisational culture and ethical leadership. As an HR leader, you have to be responsible for being the torch bearer of ethics in organisation; and (viii) Influencing policy and HR regulations.
In the age of digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, how should human resources prepare themselves and how should companies/organisations debunk technological myths?
In the age of digitisation and Artificial Intelligence, HR leaders must guide organisations through a fundamental transformation in how they manage their people, operate their business and engage with technology. HR role is critical in ensuring that employees, processes and organisational culture align. For me some of these as follows, can prepare organisation, to adopt to digitisation and AI.
– Adopt a data driven mindset: HR leader should help organisation through levering people, analytics, measuring employee engagement, and performance, and other HR actions like Training, HR teams in data analytics, use of AI tools, together, insights into work for strains and enabling strategic interventions
– Drive digital transformation of HR processes: this would include AI driven recruitment, learning and development platforms. Invest in digital HR platforms that centralise HR functions from on boarding to perform reviews to retirement.
– Focus on employee skilling and up skilling: Leader needs to build a future ready workforce by employees for jobs of the future, such as digital marketing and Air related skills. Use AI to provide personalised learning parts based on employees, rules and aspirations.
– Redefine leadership development for digital age through digital leadership, skills, agility, and adaptability
– Emphasise Change Management and digital mindset: Any new technology brings resistance HR leader must proactively help employees, embrace digital tools and AI by fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.
– Foster digital collaboration and remote work capabilities through collaboration tools by using AI management and so on.
– Ensure ethical use of air and data privacy: Ethics in HR is most central to its effective contribution to organisations. Data privacy and security are again areas where HR leader place an important role.
– Redesign jobs of Future: this will include redefining the jobs, writing new job roles
– Enhance employee experience with AI and automation: Use of Abott to handle employee queries related to HR processes like leave management, payroll on boarding and improving. Expect employee experience using predictive tool for employee retention.
In conclusion, HR leaders, I feel it is critical for them, not only to integrate a and digital tools into HR function, but also build a forward thinking, adaptable workforce, ready for future challenges by focusing on risking, embracing air, ethically, and promoting culture of innovation
Q. What sort of HR policies and strategies can play a crucial role for shaping a company’s sustainability and growth?
A. HR policies play a very vital role in ensuring both the sustainability and growth of an organisation. These policies need to align with companies long-term goals while promoting environmental, social and economic responsibility to me. Some of the key HR policies crucial for this purpose are talent equation and workforce planning; DEI; learning & development; employee well-being and mental health; sustainable remote and hybrid work policies (including flexible, work arrangements, remote work support); corporate social responsibility; workforce, resilience and agility; employee engagement and retention and ethical use of technology and AI among others. HR policies that promote sustainable practises focus on employ well-being and up to future demands are essential for organisational growth
Q. Any evolving practices would you like to recommend to Nepal as HR in many areas are in the primitive stage?
A. which are practices in India and most of the developed are cutting age. I’m sure Nepal also has many good HR practices and policies. I would like to recommend some of the practices to my Nepali friends such as digital transformation of HR, which provides automatic routine HR task like payroll leave management and employee data tracking can free up HR to focus on more strategic initiatives. Similarly, people analytics will encourage use of people analytics drive data treatment decisions in hiring performance management retention. You should invest in affordable HR software and platforms to streamline operation operations. Reduce manual errors and allow HR teams to focus on more strategic initiative.
They should have to focus on employ well-being employ Wellness is very central to any business whether in India, Nepal or anywhere in the world. As developing nations, often face challenges like work like balance, healthcare access, introducing mental emotional physical well-being programs can significantly improve employee productivity and loyalty. similarly, encourage policies that support remote or hybrid working models. This provides employ with more flexibility and reduces overhead cost for companies.
Moreover, building local talent and leadership pipeline is critical. To me, this is very critical. This should involve upscaling and reskilling programs by investing in training and development programs to quick employees with the skills required for emerging industries like technology, renewable energy and services. Similarly, focus focus on leadership development by identifying nurturing local talent for leadership loan is also very critical.
Further, I recommend to promote diversity in equity and inclusion. In developing economy like Nepal, it is very important for us to include every stakeholder from the society at our workplace. Hence people from socio-economic background, gender and regional inequalities should be added to diverse workforce. HR should implement policies that encourage hiring from under-represented groups, including women, population and minority communities. create policies that promote gender equality such as equal, pay, maternity, and paternity leave and opportunities for career progression
Another critical aspect is employee engagement and detention. Or HR friends can proactively start using digital platforms to measure employee engagement regularly collect feedback and make real-time adjustments. Improving the overall employee experience and significantly turned in competitive job market. Introduce reward and recognition program. The technology high-performance which helps boost, moral and return of talent. Similarly, sustainability and CSR are important. Introduce HR policies that support sustainability such as reduce, use of paper, promoting energy, efficient offices, encouraging employees to engage with environment, friendly behaviours. CSR program that aligned with LOCA needs such as education, education, healthcare, environmental
In addition, agility your workforce flexibility enhance output in rapidly growing economic environment like Nepal, people need flexibility. HR should adopt more workforce model such as gig, work, contract, base, employment and flexible work schedules. Encourage cross training and multi-skilling so that employs can take on different roles as needed, ensuring operational efficiency and adaptability.
Subsequently, ethical use of technology is required. Information and data privacy are critical today in any nation. It is therefore crucial to establish policies for ethical AI use and ensure compliance with data privacy loss. Help trust bank clearly communicating how employ data is collected, stored and used establishing strong privacy policies can help avoid issues related to data issues and privacy concerns.
At the end I would like to emphasise on corporate governance and compliance.as an HR leader must ensure that organisation comply with local labour laws and regulations, including working hours minimum wages, workplace safety standards. Establish policies that promote ethical business practises, from fair recruitment to non-discrimination in workplace. this will help organisations build a positive brand and attract global, talent. With the aforementioned recommendations, HR practices should focus on addressing local challenges while allowing with global trades. By leveraging tech technology, promoting inclusivity and focusing on employed development, organising in countries like Nepal can ensure sustainability at long-term growth. HR leaders in developing nations play role in fostering agility, innovation, and ethical business practises contributing to both organisational success and national economic progress.
Q. It is said that the key to successful HR lies in investing in continuous learning and skilling opportunities to ensure that employees remain adaptable to evolving industry trends and technologies. Could you please share your experience in the context of India and beyond?
A. This is very relevant question to me. Investing in continuous learning and up skilling is essential to ensure employment adaptable in the face of all industry trends. HR can implement specific specific policy initiative that promote to learning culture, and non-skilled development and align talent with future business needs.
Q. What are the predominant factors that build readiness of the companies to adopt technology-based and future-focused interactive/learning practices?
A. For adopting technology based on future focused interactive learning practises requires companies to build readiness on several fronts. Some of the key factors that contribute to this readiness are Leadership; learning culture; technological infrastructure issue include access; change Management; skill readiness of the workforce; personalisation of flexibility; data driven decision making making; regulatory and compliance security;and agility, and scalability. Readiness to rapidly, implement new training technologies, respond to emerging trends, and adapt to future, technological advancements. By fostering these factors, organisations can build readiness needed to successful, implement, future, focus and technology driven, interactive learning practices
Q. How important are team building, horizontal and vertical discussions in the team?
A. Team building, along with horizontal vertical discussions play a critical role in fostering collaboration, innovation, and overall team effectiveness for me. Some of the most important contribution, these two are,
– Enhance communication, which helps creating unit that can work together towards common goals.
– Trust and collaboration – trust is foundation of effective timber through team building exercises. Team members can develop stronger bonds which leads to better collaboration, conflict resolution, and problems.
– Boosting, morale and motivation, engagement in activities that promote kamra and understanding boost morale
– included problem solving
– Roll clarity
Horizontal discussions help in fostering pure learning, better collaboration and innovation. It also helps to improve team synergy which leads to speedy decision making.
While vertical discussions involve communication between different hierarchical levels. But it helps in terms of alignment of organisational goals, creating feedback mechanism, helping empower and create ownership among the team, clarity on expectations and also conflict resolution.
Does effective teambuilding combined with structured horizontal and vertical decisions creates high-performance. This dynamic strengthens both to pure relationships and leader, employee relationship, promoting engagement, innovation, and performance.
Q. As talent drain is considered a major problem for Nepal, how can they be retained for the organisation/company’s growth?
A. Retaining talent is one of the most important facet of any HR leaders responsibility. In the current business scenario where we are seeing new economic activities, leading to newer opportunities, new industries coming up in the nations, retention of top talent is a big challenge. For me some of the effective talent retention strategies for organisation special in the developing nations are competitive compensation and benefits; career growth and development opportunities; flexible work arrangements; employee engagement and recognition; positive organisational culture; work balance; internal mobility and career pathing; and employee employment among others.
Well, there are many other initiatives that organisations can take to return the talent. I’m sure in Nepal HR leaders are already engaged in some of these that I mentioned above, but this is not a exclusive list. There could be many more initiatives that we can take to ensure that people remain in the organisation and are happy and engaged.
Q. How are the key results aligned with key performance indicators in the globally reputed companies you worked with such as PRG Group, Hinduja Group, Parke Davis, Hoechst, and Ajay Piramal Group among others?
A. I had privilege of working with some very large and repeated India global organisations as well as repeated multinational companies. Aligning key results with key performance indicators is essential for ensuring that an organisational goal and try to specific outcomes with my experience. I would like to suggest the following steps to link, KRS withKPIs.
First and foremost understand the difference, what are major outcomes right to an objective while KPI are quantifiable. Measures used to evaluate how well and individual, team or organisation is performed in relation to strategic goals. Secondly, link to business objectives – start by identifying clear strategic objectives for your organisation. These object should align with broader company vision admission. Once objectives are clear identify measurable key results that will signal progress towards achieving these objectives. These Key Results should be ambitious but humble. After defining cares, select Key Performance has that track progress towards the specific results. KPS serve as constant, ongoing metric YKR. They clear end point that indicates goal completion. Further, creating real time tracking mechanisms;
Most importantly, use KPI for continuous monitoring, KRS for target achievement – KPI are often ongoing metric that provide early mornings. If performance starts to deviate from desired results. They help in continuously monitoring performance. While care as outcome targets, they create and provide more concrete target to achieve, achieve within a set time, from example, heating a sales number or reducing error rates, et cetera.
Further, cascading KPI and KRS – aligning cares and KP is vertical across organisation. For example corporate level KPI should influence department level K and we should casket down to individual individual or team level KPI and Kks. Most importantly, align Care to SMART KPIs-specific meal, achievable and relevant and time bound is what smart stands for. If a KPI is not me, it won’t serve an effective indicator of progress on KR. Therefore, it needs to be usable. In addition, it requires to incorporate feedback mechanisms. Ultimately, performance reviews to KR and KPI are crucial. In this respect, employees performance app should be linked to their contribution towards HR with KPI serving as measurement of their ongoing performance. Use KPI to assess individual performance on regular basis and reward achievement of K to encourage focus on strategy goals.
Aligning with KPI, ensure that organisational goals are not only aspirational, but also major and trackable. K P has provided continuous measurement while KRS define the outcomes, offering a clear way to monitor progress and ensure alight alignment with broader business objectives.
Q. How an aspirant can be groomed in a leadership role, what are the mantras of success?
A. Grooming talent or an aspirant for leadership roles is a strategic process that ensures the sustainability and long-term success of an organisation. Effective development helps in building pipeline of capable leaders who can drive the organisation forward. This also helps as a major hook for retention. Here are the key strategies for grooming talent for leadership roles. which includes, identify potential potential employees; create personalised development plans; provide mentorship and coaching; offer, leadership, training, and development programmes; provide stretch assignments and on job projects; develop emotional intelligence(EQ); encourage growth mindset, and learning culture; encourage networking and building relationship; foster innovation and entrepreneurship; in ethical leadership and integrity lessons.
Grooming talent for leadership role is long-term investment that involves a blend of training, mentorship, exposure to real world challenges and continuous feedback. Adopting a structure, personalised and inclusive approach to leadership development, organisation can create a pipeline of future leaders who are ready to step into the key roles and drive organisational success.
Q. How effectively does the work culture and work ethics prevail in the companies, what obligations do the employer and leaders require to make prudent and noble institutions?
A. Work, culture and work ethics are foundational elements in creating prudent and novel institutions. These two aspect ship not only how an organisation operates but also how it is perceived by employees, stakeholders and society at large. Here is how they play critical role.
I) Work Culture-refers to the shared values, behaviours, and practises that define the working environment. A strong positive or culture is essential for building institutions that are sustainable, innovative, and ethically grounded.
II) Fostering innovation and growth – a culture that encourages collaboration and open communication promotes innovation. Employs will empower to share ideas leading to continuous growth of the institution.
III) employee engagement and satisfaction – healthy work culture increases employee engagement which translates into higher productivity and commitment
IV) alignment with institutional values-a positive culture, ensure that employs understand and live by the institutional values and bones, fostering alignment between individual actions and a broad purpose of the institution
v) adaptability and resilience – institution with strong adaptive culture can navigate changes more effectively.
Work Ethics-refers to moral principles that guide behaviour in decision-making within an organisation. These include
I) integrity and trust – strong work ethics, such as honesty, integrity, and transparency are essential for building trust among employees, clients, and stakeholders
II) accountability and responsibility. Institutions are prioritise accountability. Ensure that employees take responsibility for their actions and decisions.
III) fairness and equality – ethical institution ensure fairness in hiring promotion and compensation. A culture that emphasises work ethics ensures that employs are treated with dignity and respect.
IV) sustainability and long-term focus -institutions that integrate work, ethics in decision making are more likely to make choices that prioritise long-term success or short-term gains.
To me work, culture and work are the pillars that create couldn’t and novel institutions. Healthy work culture, foster innovation, collaboration and engagement. While work ethics, ensure accountability, integrity, and long-term focus. Together they not only drive business success but also built in institutions that are admired for their ethical behavior and social contributions making them both prudent in decision, making a noble in their impact on the world
Q. Have you gone through any unique practices in managing people and delivering results? Could you please tell us briefly?
A. Some of the unique practices that I have personally deployed in managing people and delivery results include-talent mobility, employee employment through decision, making authority, agile team structures, to be recognition system, using DEI as a business driver. Also in today’s business context, we have to use AI and data driven people management tunes, which also helps predictive analytics for workforce planning
Well, there is no mantra for any particular unique practice, but sum of many good practices which brings employee at the centre. Stage of everything you do in the organisation is always helpful.
Q. Would you like to say anything about Asset Management Company as Nepal is going to set up an AMC considering the rising non-performing assets in the banking sector of Nepal?
A. Asset management company(AMC) play a role in financial industry by managing investments and assets on behalf of its clients, including individuals, corporation, and institutions. This company help help clients grow their wealth by making informed investment decision in various financial institution such as stocks, bonds, real estate assets, I have the privilege of sitting on the board of, India’s most trusted AMC, which is LIC AMC and mutual fund. I am independent director on the board. I’m sure developing countries. Nepal will find this very useful as AMC is help decide investment strategy and decision making, risk management, maximising returns for clients. Their role in financial system includes channelling savings into investments, promoting efficient markets, supporting long-term financial planning, corporate Dot In, Stewart, And global investments and diversification.
There are many benefits of using an AMC like getting professional, professional expertise, convenience, and time, efficiencies, and managing economics of scale. AMC, play a critical role in helping individuals and institution manage wealth effectively. They do that by offering profession, expertise, risk management and access to broad range of investment opportunities. I certainly feel Nepal will immensely benefit by creating some good AMCs.
