INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Mr. Rohit Hasteer

1. How has HR evolved through your career?

I have seen the following trends evolving in the past decade:
• HR function is not looked at like just a support function,
and being recognized as more strategic in nature
• Increasing participation of HR in business decisions
• Organization Development as a part of HR getting more
importance

2. Compensation is now being associated with total rewards,

how do you convert rhetoric into reality?
There is nothing rhetorical about the above in my view. It is
just important to change and keep abreast with the change
in the generation, thinking and views of fresh talent. Today’s
talent is not just looking as good salaries/ good money. For
them compensation is more than just money – and while
good money could attract and retain talent a few years back
and that was good ‘compensation’ for them, we need ‘more’
for attracting and retaining today’s talent. It is all about
perspective. We need to stop looking at this as a rhetoric –
and viewing it more as a positive ‘change’. (Total Rewards
is nothing but all of the tools available to the employer that
may be used to attract, motivate and retain employees.
Total rewards include everything the employee perceives to
be of value resulting from the employment relationship)

3. How can one communicate the benefits of moving from the

traditional compensation benefits to total rewards?
We can communicate the same by defining ‘Total Rewards’
in the form of the following model:

• Compensation
• Benefits
 • The Work ‘Experience’
o Acknowledgement / Recognition
o Balance (of work and life)
o Culture
o Development (career/professional)
o Environment (workplace)

When we define ‘Total Rewards’ as the above, inclusive

nature of ‘the entire package’ of ‘what to look forward to’
while working of the company get inbuilt in and obvious from
the definition itself and this gets communicated as the
biggest ‘benefit’ of moving to ‘Total Rewards’ as a system.

4. What priority should be given to different elements of total

rewards?
• The different elements represent the "tool kit" from which an
organization chooses to offer and align a value proposition
that creates value for both the organization and the
employee. An effective total rewards strategy results in
satisfied, engaged and productive employees, who in turn
create desired business performance and results.
• Hence, priority given without organizational context would
be very subjective. In my view, it is the entire ‘tool kit’ that
needs priority and the different elements might need to be
under/ over played from time to time depending on the
situation and business context.

5. Does non- financial rewards affects motivational levels of

employees?

Yes – non-financial rewards result in increased intrinsic

motivation. Intrinsic Motivation is linked to factors that
include an employee's sense of achievement, respect for the
whole person, trust, appropriate advancement opportunities
and others, intrinsic motivation consistently results in higher
performance levels. This is the result of Non Financial
Rewards.
.

6. How can a proper compensation benefits strategy work to

bring different elements into total rewards?

The strategy needs to attack the following at a broad level to

bring in different elements into total rewards:

• Culture
Organizational culture is subject to internal and external
influences; thus, culture is depicted as a contextual element
of the total rewards model, overlapping within and outside
the organization. (Culture consists of the collective attitudes
and behaviors that influence how individuals behave. Culture
determines how and why a company operates in the way it
does. Typically, it is comprised of a set of often unspoken
expectations, behavioral norms and performance standards
to which the organization has become accustomed.)
• Environment
External environment in which an organization operates can
influence the internal environment; thus, environment is
depicted as a contextual element of the total rewards model,
overlapping within and outside the organization.
(Environment is the total cluster of observable physical,
psychological and behavioral elements in the workplace. It is
the tangible manifestation of organizational culture.
Environment sets the tone, as everyone who enters the
workplace reacts to it, either consciously or unconsciously.
Because they are directly observable and often measurable,
specific elements of the environment can be deliberately
manipulated or changed. )
• Attraction
Attraction of an adequate (and perpetual) supply of qualified
talent is essential for the organization's survival, and it is
one of the key planks of business strategy. One way an
organization can address this issue is to determine which
"attractors" within the total rewards programs brings the
kind of talent that will drive organizational success.
• Retention
Desired talent can be kept on-staff by using a dynamic blend
of elements from the total rewards package as employees
move through their career lifecycles. However, not all
retention is desirable, which is why a formal retention
strategy with appropriate steps is essential.

7. One of the emerging fields of HR is analytics, how useful is it

in mergers & acquisitions?
Analytics in HR can assist the business to address the
following:
1. Carrying out a diagnosis to confirm strategic and
organisational issues and opportunities to be addressed
2. Providing advice to identify, quantify and action specific
work team and productivity benefits that may be harvested
from the merger
3. Conducting quick organisational health check (staff,
morale and motivation) and making recommendations to
address critical issues
4. Assisting with the re-alignment and/or re-design of the
organisation architecture for the new business
e.g.
a. identifying the optimum configuration of the core business
value chain, services and support functions
b. clarifying internal and external interfaces
c. aligning the associated management structures, roles and
accountabilities

8. Should salaries, benefits & incentives of CEO’s be capped?

It depends on the lifecycle of the company, ownership
model, scale, and many other factors. The simple answer is
“Not one size fits all”

9. What are the areas you think HR is emerging as a strategic

partner?
This strategic partnership of HR in business is in areas such
as the design of work positions; hiring; reward, recognition
and strategic pay; performance development and appraisal
 systems; career and succession planning; and employee
development.
10. What do you think lies ahead for HR in India?
Although the questions may be the same, the answers most
assuredly are not. The ongoing challenge is to establish new
deliverables and to sustain strong partnerships with both
internal and external customers. The ability to see the big
picture-and to deploy the resources to address the big
picture-will be more important than ever. To position the HR
function for the next decades, every HR practitioner needs to
take on a public relations role-starting with your own
employees. Think of yourself as a product and do some
smart marketing.
11. India, being a low cost economy used to be seen as hub for
service industry, but with the advent of increasing salary
demands (e.g.: costlier outsourcing) - do you think India is
losing this advantage? What should be done to retain this
advantage?
We as a country, in the macro sense should repackage our
advantage as ‘Quality’ and not just ‘cheap’. We might be
emerging costlier than our neighbors in some business
sectors– but that means better service, customer centricity
and a superior output any day.
12. What were your most challenging as well as memorable
career moments?
Most challenging is when I had to fire someone for the first
time. Telling someone to go for the first time was very tough.
Most memorable was receiving the Great Place to Work
award very recently.
13. Do you have any mentors in the industry?
I look upto most of my bosses whom I have worked with in
over a decade of my career. At the same time, for any
guidance I need, I look up to my parents.
14. Do you think movies are relevant with real life? Tell us
one lesson you learnt from a movie and its application in
practical life?
The answer is yes and no. It’s in your hand what you want to
take away from the movie as a lesson and what you should
ignore. The biggest lesson learnt from various movies is that
humility always pays and I have seen this simple quality
helps work wonders in building bridges with people across all
stratas of life every day.