Describe a situation where you achieved something significant after overcoming

obstacles ?
At Deloitte, fresh out of SAP boot camp( training program ), I was assigned
to a project which was in its nascent stage as an SAP-HR consultant
without anyone to lead the module. As a fresher, I was new to the entire
concept of working and thus the responsibility of handling an entire
module was overwhelming. Since I was new, I was unaware of the
processes and building relationships. My counterpart on the client side
was a lady who had 25 years of experience(I was just 21) in the field, thus
I was intimidated. Infact the first call was scheduled for an hour and
lasted just 5 minutes. Small issues were escalated to the top a few times,
but my confidence remained undeterred. From there to building a strong
relationship of trust and interdependence, I came a long way to a time
where the other modules were almost close to collapse and the only
module flourishing was the SAP-HR module.

At Deloitte, after the initial classroom training program on SAP-ABAP, I was assigned onto a project
which was in its nascent stage. Critical project requirements forced me into the role without any
formal Knowledge Transfer or a lead as an SAP HR consultant (client facing role). As a new hire
straight out of college, I was unaware about the different systems and relationship building with the
client.
Over the next few weeks after a few client interactions, I realized that my counterpart at the clients
end was a lady with 25 years of experience in the field and dogmatic in her approach.Moreover
members of the Center of Excellence had set ways of working. With great perseverance and
persuasion, I tried to build a relationship of trust and interdependence.I designed the entire process
on how to handle change requests that was to be followed by the Center of Excellence of HR to
maintain high standards of quality. I faced difficulty in convincing the members to follow this new
process, and finally succeeded after highlighting the benefits of a standardized procedure. The
result was reduction in number of escalations and high quality standards in resolving each ticket.
Thus, at a very sensistive stage of the project, what helped Deloitte retain the project was the HR
module.

The next few months we spent in trying to incorporate the process so that it could be followed by the CoE
for HR. I faced difficulty in convincing people who had set ways of working to follow new processes, but
succeeded.

At Deloitte, after the initial classroom training program on SAP-ABAP, I was assigned onto a project which
was in its nascent stage. Critical project requirements forced me into the role without any formal
Knowledge Transfer or a lead as an SAP HR consultant (client facing role). Fresh into the industry, I had no
idea about the different systems and relationship building with the client.
Over the next few weeks after regular client interactions, I realized that my counterpart at the clients end
was a lady who had been in the profession for 25 years and was not open to adapt any changes in the
processes they currently followed. Thus, with great perseverance and persuasion, I built a relationship of
trust and then designed the entire process on how to handle change requests that would be followed by the
Center of Excellence of HR. The next few months we spent in trying to incorporate the process so that it
could be followed by the CoE for HR. We faced difficulty in convincing people who had set ways of working
to follow new processes, but succeeded. Meanwhile, the other modules (Finance, S&D), despite being led
by experienced consultants were unable to build trust and the project was at a very sensitive stage and
what helped Deloitte retain the project was the HR module.

Moreover, other modules also

adopted the process being followed by HR.

Describe a situation where you initiated a new idea or approach and

implemented it. How did you go about it?
During my summer internship at Tata Teleservices, I was assigned a
project to address the need of the current HR analytics and automate it
over a period of time. Once I studied the structure, systems, processes
and existing reports, I realized that each function of HR used a different
application. I brought in a new of creating a framework that contained
innovative metrics from all stages of Employee Life Cycle on a single
platform. I had to convince the various stakeholders for their
cooperation by showcasing the importance of such a tool. I coordinated
with different HR teams, being critical data sources required for the
metrics to create a standard format in which data will be provided from
the multiple systems. The final outcome was an information tool that
provided the top management with a high level view of the organization
health w.r.t HR parameters, utilization of investments in HR activities
and the value add of HR to business goals.

My summer Internship project at Tata Teleservices was to address the need of HR analytics in
the organization and automate it over a period of time. The criticality and complexity of the project
were both high but the requirements were extremely vague and abstract, thus, initially I was

unsure of how to go about it. Once I studied the structure, systems, processes and existing
reports, I realized that each function of HR used a different application. I brought in a new
framework that contained metrics from all stages of Employee Life Cycle on a single platform. I
coordinated with different HR teams, brought critical data sources required for the metrics and
created a standard format in which data will be provided from multiple systems. The final
outcome was an information tool that provided the top management with the value-add of HR to
business goals. Such a tool did not exist in the organization earlier and the idea was well
appreciated by all stakeholders who recognized the importance of such a tool.

Describe a situation where you had to persuade others to achieve a goal after
overcoming resistance? How did you go about doing it?
At Deloitte, one of the initiatives I took was starting a newsletter for the
Application Management Systems service line. This required the support of a
senior manager and senior consultants, who at first did not agree to the idea of a
separate newsletter for the service line in addition to that of the organization.
Through multiple discussions, addition and omission of various sections of the
newsletter I finally managed to convince the managers of the value add of the
AMS Newsletter and how it would serve a different purpose from the already
existing Deloitte newsletter. But then again, there were other issues related to
approval from stakeholders across locations. Thus, I had to interact with
employees across locations to get them onboard the newsletter team, so that the
newsletter is common to the AMS service line across locations. The entire
process took a few months but when the first edition of the newsletter was
released, the entire team received great recognition and accolades.

Working at Deloitte I felt the need for a newsletter for the Application
Management Systems service line. The goal in mind was to include
service line success stories, ideas and know-how in a separate
newsletter to instil knowledge sharing and team bonding. This required
the support and approval of a senior manager and senior consultants,
who at first did not agree to the idea of a separate newsletter in
addition to that of the organization. Through multiple discussions, , I
highlighted to the benefits of the AMS Newsletter and how it would
serve a different purpose from the already existing Deloitte newsletter
to the senior managers. I created a draft template for the newsletter to
which multiple omissions and additions were made after discussion
with stakeholders. After approval from my peers and seniors, we faced
issues from stakeholders at other locations. I pitched the idea to
various people in other locations to gain their support and after
multiple inter/intra-location discussions, expanded the team to include

people from other locations as well so that the newsletter is common to

the AMS service line. When the first edition of the newsletter was
released, the entire team received a lot of recognition and accolades.

Successful leaders have a clear sense of purpose. What is your SOP?

I have been brought up in a very cosmopolitan environment embedded with
strong values like tolerance, high self esteem, being righteous and forthright.
Coming from a family starting from my grandfather who was an airforce officer
and my father a Chartered Accountant, I have always been pushed to strive for
excellence and make a difference in whatever way possible. At the age of 17, I
left my home and city to pursue my education; this inculcated a sense of
adaptability in me and prepared me to cope with change and ambiguity.
I have chosen to build a career in Human resource Management, which requires
a large length and breadth of experiences and exposures. I believe that to start
with, I would need opportunities to be able to apply the theoretical knowledge
that I have gained through my Masters degree to practice. I want to work across
all functions of HR, industries and geographies to increase the depth of my
knowledge and experience. A leadership position in a renowned conglomerate
like TATA would provide me with challenges and opportunities that will allow me
to make a larger impact on the organization and its people. At this stage in the
industries with emerging trends, I would like to provide new perspective to
improve the already existing HR practices in the organization.

What do you propose to do in your career in the short term and long term?
My short term goal is to work for an organization that offers me an
opportunity to understand the functioning of an organization exposes me
to different industries and entrusts me with challenging tasks in all
functions of HR.
My long term goal is to grow by working in businesses across sectors and
achieve a leadership position to contribute effectively to the organization
and make a significant impact not only to the organization, but also its
people and the society.