Shailesh Jadhav: An Army Major Turned HR Leader & Leadership Coach
Shailesh Jadhav
Vice President & Global Head - HR
What inspired you to start your career in the Human Resources segment. How has the journey been so far, and what drives you today?
I have always been interested in dealing with human resources amidst various environments and challenges. I commenced my professional career by serving the elite Indian army and then moved to civvy street, where I pursued my passion for understanding and working on human relations. After leaving the force, I joined Aditya Birla Group. For the last nine years now, Mirafra has been my field of play, wherein I got an opportunity to start an HR function from scratch and make it an integral part of the company. Here, my area of responsibility includes all aspects of the employee life cycle and creating a culture that attracts & inspires the most passionate talent where everyone learns and thrives.
Evolving with time in this field, my belief that every business exists to solve human problems and human talent is the key asset of the business that must be nurtured’ has become stronger. Taking employee experience to the next level while benefiting all business stakeholders is still a decisive driving factor for me.
How would you define Mirafra Technologies as an organization?
What is the kind of exposure it canoffer to the candidates?
The Indian VLSI design services market is growing at rocket speed. Recently, the Indian Government has also announced a big plan to encourage chip manufacturing in India. While companies are aggressively improving turn around time and meeting high quality standards for complex designs, Mirafra Technologies stands as a leader in providing niche technology design services by assimilating VLSI hardware, embedded software, cloud, and data analytics for fortune 100 clients in India, the US and Europe.
Mirafra provides a great place for junior engineers to learn and experienced leaders to own and deliver. Mirafrans can either opt to climb the technical ladder or the management path as they grow with the company.Likewise, they can get trained and switch to the projects and technologies that interest them the most and help in adding value. In Mirafra, every employee is a partner in growth and offered a unique employee value proposition.
There must have been huge challenges en route. How did Mirafra Technologies support you to grow as a successful professional?
Oh yes, there were many. Well, I consider challenges to be opportunities in disguise, and the difficulty levels evaluate a leader’s true worth. Establishing oneself as a leader depends on the amalgamation of the traits of an individual and the existing leadership team & culture of the organization. Most importantly, you should be convinced to see yourself as a part of the team in the success story. I colored myself to the environment and culture of Mirafra yet kept my temperament and attributes intact. Mirafra trusted leader a change agent and offered carte blanche to think, design, implement and innovate numerous HR initiatives that are a confluence of business people growth strategy. Our founders, Shyam Padala and Alok Kuchlous give utmost priority to Mirafra’s culture of open door broad mind policy and hence are always receptive and flexible to new ideas, which made my task easier.
What are some of the most impactful HR trends currently developing in the IT segment? How are you gearing up to stay abreast with the advancements?
The IT sector has always been a field of fresh and young talent. Newer generations are entering the workforce worldwide, and they look for independence and creativity rather than a sacrosanct style of functioning. Freedom and employee experience are the key factors for these forces. Offering the best employee experience and value proposition is the need of the hour. In recent years, especially the last two years, the world of HR has redis
The Indian VLSI design services market is growing at rocket speed. Recently, the Indian Government has also announced a big plan to encourage chip manufacturing in India. While companies are aggressively improving turn around time and meeting high quality standards for complex designs, Mirafra Technologies stands as a leader in providing niche technology design services by assimilating VLSI hardware, embedded software, cloud, and data analytics for fortune 100 clients in India, the US and Europe.
Mirafra provides a great place for junior engineers to learn and experienced leaders to own and deliver. Mirafrans can either opt to climb the technical ladder or the management path as they grow with the company.Likewise, they can get trained and switch to the projects and technologies that interest them the most and help in adding value. In Mirafra, every employee is a partner in growth and offered a unique employee value proposition.
There must have been huge challenges en route. How did Mirafra Technologies support you to grow as a successful professional?
Oh yes, there were many. Well, I consider challenges to be opportunities in disguise, and the difficulty levels evaluate a leader’s true worth. Establishing oneself as a leader depends on the amalgamation of the traits of an individual and the existing leadership team & culture of the organization. Most importantly, you should be convinced to see yourself as a part of the team in the success story. I colored myself to the environment and culture of Mirafra yet kept my temperament and attributes intact. Mirafra trusted leader a change agent and offered carte blanche to think, design, implement and innovate numerous HR initiatives that are a confluence of business people growth strategy. Our founders, Shyam Padala and Alok Kuchlous give utmost priority to Mirafra’s culture of open door broad mind policy and hence are always receptive and flexible to new ideas, which made my task easier.
What are some of the most impactful HR trends currently developing in the IT segment? How are you gearing up to stay abreast with the advancements?
The IT sector has always been a field of fresh and young talent. Newer generations are entering the workforce worldwide, and they look for independence and creativity rather than a sacrosanct style of functioning. Freedom and employee experience are the key factors for these forces. Offering the best employee experience and value proposition is the need of the hour. In recent years, especially the last two years, the world of HR has redis
covered its potential. HR has moved more towards partnering & enabling business and people. Hybrid work options, virtual onboarding, constant upskilling, employee well being, employee service through digital aids and the use of AI and analytics are trending areas in IT HR.
To meet the customer standards and be the best on talent expectations, Mirafra always moves with the latest trending needs. In fact, we remain one step ahead of the upcoming trends that can be testified through some practices. We had adapted to work from home, virtual onboarding and orientation, online training, and a flexible compensation revision system well before the pandemic. We deal in a very competitive talent market of niche resources and can’t afford to stay behind demanding trends.
Could you share a piece of advice to young,aspirant professionals in the HR domain?
Here is the new era of HR as a catalyst. Today, HR has carved out its position in decision making and has panned out as a professional role securing its chair in the Board. While pursuing business goals, make an honest attempt to offer solutions to the people of the organization that builds an environment of collaboration, contribution, and partnership. Just be humble, simple, honest, transparent, techsavvy, approachable for employees, and learn the ropes of business to offer relevant logical, and convincing HR solutions to the management.
Shailesh Jadhav, Vice President & Global Head - HR, Mirafra Technologies
An ex-Army Professional and HR Management graduate from XLRI, Shailesh has been fortunate enough to shape high-performing cultures at some of the leading MNCs, growing outfits, and startup environments. Working with global teams and companies in India, the US, Canada, and Europe has strengthened his outlook and knowledge on a larger scale. Now, Shailesh enjoys bringing a difference in people’s lives by extending guidance and coaching.
Hobbies:Distance Running & Marathons, Mountaineering & trekking, Participating in Community Development Work.
Favorite Cuisine: Indian & Continental
Favorite Books:‘The Goal, Theory of Constraints’, book by Eliyahu Goldratt, ‘On becoming a Person’, book by Carl Rogers and 'Shree Bhagavad Gita’
Favorite Travel Destination: The great Himalayan ranges in Ladakh,Arunachal and J&K
Awards & Recognition:
(i)Top 100 HR Tech Minds and 50 HR Tech Leaders from World HRD Congress.
(ii)Army Commendation and Awards.
To meet the customer standards and be the best on talent expectations, Mirafra always moves with the latest trending needs. In fact, we remain one step ahead of the upcoming trends that can be testified through some practices. We had adapted to work from home, virtual onboarding and orientation, online training, and a flexible compensation revision system well before the pandemic. We deal in a very competitive talent market of niche resources and can’t afford to stay behind demanding trends.
Could you share a piece of advice to young,aspirant professionals in the HR domain?
Here is the new era of HR as a catalyst. Today, HR has carved out its position in decision making and has panned out as a professional role securing its chair in the Board. While pursuing business goals, make an honest attempt to offer solutions to the people of the organization that builds an environment of collaboration, contribution, and partnership. Just be humble, simple, honest, transparent, techsavvy, approachable for employees, and learn the ropes of business to offer relevant logical, and convincing HR solutions to the management.
Shailesh Jadhav, Vice President & Global Head - HR, Mirafra Technologies
An ex-Army Professional and HR Management graduate from XLRI, Shailesh has been fortunate enough to shape high-performing cultures at some of the leading MNCs, growing outfits, and startup environments. Working with global teams and companies in India, the US, Canada, and Europe has strengthened his outlook and knowledge on a larger scale. Now, Shailesh enjoys bringing a difference in people’s lives by extending guidance and coaching.
Hobbies:Distance Running & Marathons, Mountaineering & trekking, Participating in Community Development Work.
Favorite Cuisine: Indian & Continental
Favorite Books:‘The Goal, Theory of Constraints’, book by Eliyahu Goldratt, ‘On becoming a Person’, book by Carl Rogers and 'Shree Bhagavad Gita’
Favorite Travel Destination: The great Himalayan ranges in Ladakh,Arunachal and J&K
Awards & Recognition:
(i)Top 100 HR Tech Minds and 50 HR Tech Leaders from World HRD Congress.
(ii)Army Commendation and Awards.