Gowtham Venkatesh

Supporting Middle Mile, Last Mile, and Global Specialty Fulfillment business lines

Employee Relations Strategy and Program Management

• Spearheaded Employee Relations (ER) strategy across India and the Rest of the World (ROW) region, driving proactive ER initiatives that enhanced employee experience and fostered positive relations across diverse regions (India, MENA, Singapore, Mexico, and Brazil).
• Led ER review mechanisms, collaborating with India and global business, and HR leaders to drive strategic Management Business Reviews (MBRs). Ensured alignment of ER practices across regions, providing timely updates to global HR, and business leadership.
• Developed and rolled out standard ER frameworks across India, establishing a consistent approach to ER management.

ER Tech & Capability Building

• Designed and implemented scalable, tech-enabled ER interventions, such as WeCare and ER Assessments, streamlining the collection of employee feedback and improving engagement across global sites.
• Conceptualized and executed five key ER capability-building programs centered on strategic ER pillars, including proactive ER, risk mitigation, building advocacy, and rapid response teams, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Built and maintained an online ER knowledge hub, enabling seamless access to ER resources for business and HR stakeholders.

Change Management and OD

• Led ER transformation by introducing standardized, tech-enabled ways of working, and establishing a Center of Excellence to build organizational ER capability and intelligence.
• Provided advisory support for HR and business change management initiatives, focusing on creating employee-centric risk mitigation plans, and crafting tailored communication strategies to improve employee experience during periods of change.

Proactive Employee Relations

• Developed and implemented data-driven ER mechanisms to gather employee insights, proactively identifying emerging issues, and driving continuous improvement in employee relations.
• Led the Driver Relations workstream, a highly successful, award-winning initiative focused on enhancing the driver experience, and building advocacy.
• Conducted site visits and ER assessments, identifying and mitigating ER risks, and ensuring a high standard for associate experience and satisfaction.

Investigations and Case Management

• Led and managed investigations into escalations related to workplace harassment, discrimination, performance issues, and adherence to company policies, recommending corrective actions as appropriate.
• Acted as a member of the POSH Internal Committee for India Operations South, ensuring compliance with workplace safety and gender-sensitive policies.
• Provided expert advisory support to HR and business teams on employee disciplinary management, ensuring fair, timely, and effective resolutions.

Statutory Labor Compliance

• Managed statutory labor compliance for Amazon’s South region, ensuring adherence to local labor laws and regulations, while minimizing legal risk for the organization.

Campus Recruitment, Employer Branding, and Talent Management Leader

Talent Management and Special Initiatives

• Conceptualized and launched Ahead & Astros, a high-impact talent management initiative designed to fast-track career development and provide growth opportunities for employees at the DM, to DVP grade levels.
• Developed and launched Arise, a specialized recruitment program targeting niche roles by sourcing untapped talent from diverse and underrepresented talent pools, ensuring organizational agility, and talent diversity.

Campus Recruitment & Employer Branding

• Led a team of 4 employees, redesigned the campus recruitment strategy, scaling hiring efforts by 5X and successfully recruiting 1,000 full-time employees and 200 summer interns from top-tier B-schools, engineering colleges, and law and statistics universities.
• Managed the Ahead program for Tier I campus recruits, overseeing their first-year development, including two structured stints that aligned with business needs and talent growth.
• Drove employer branding strategies for Axis Bank, leveraging social media platforms, influencers, and campus ambassadors to elevate the organization’s presence and attract top-tier talent from campuses nationwide.

Campus Recruitment & Employer Branding

• Led a high-performing campus recruitment team of 4, overseeing the recruitment of 6,000 full-time employees and 400 summer interns across disciplines such as Management, Law, Engineering, Statistics, and Design, ensuring alignment with organizational needs.
• Drove employer branding initiatives by executing robust campus engagement programs, including case study competitions, guest lectures by ICICI leadership, and dynamic social media campaigns, enhancing the organization’s visibility and appeal among top talent.

HR Business Partner

• Managed the end-to-end employee lifecycle for 3,500+ employees, providing strategic HR guidance across the organization to align talent strategy with business objectives.
• Led recruitment efforts for key roles through targeted recruitment drives, referrals, and strategic sourcing, ensuring that critical talent needs were met promptly and efficiently.
• Acted as a Culture Champion, driving and strengthening ICICI Bank’s core values, fostering employee advocacy, and ensuring organizational alignment through town halls and branch visits.
• Partnered closely with business leaders on Workforce Management (WFM), developing a talent pipeline for critical roles and driving long-term talent planning.
• Managed grievance handling and led investigations related to POSH, workplace harassment, performance, and behavioral issues, ensuring timely resolutions in line with company policies.
• Cultivated strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, enabling effective ground-sensing and enhancing employee relations.

HR Analytics & Talent Strategy

• Led HR analytics initiatives, analyzing sources of hire, demographics, exit interview data, and market hiring trends to generate actionable insights that informed HR strategy and decision-making.
• Developed and implemented interventions based on data to curb attrition and improve employee retention and engagement.
• Identified critical skill gaps, mapped them to business needs, and worked closely with COE teams to drive Learning & Development, Leadership Development, and Performance Management practices, ensuring alignment with the organization’s growth objectives.
• Designed and executed initiatives focused on productivity improvement across teams and departments.

Strategic HR Leadership & Special Projects

• Played a key role in the Covid Response Team, providing proactive support to Covid-positive employees and their families while ensuring the health and safety of all staff through detailed monitoring and tailored support programs.
• Led attrition management and dashboarding efforts, designing targeted retention interventions to increase stability in critical roles.
• Contributed to the management of promotions and performance management programs on a Pan-India scale, ensuring fair and transparent processes for talent development.
• Played an integral part in redesigning the curriculum for the ICICI Manipal Academy, driving alignment with evolving business needs and enhancing leadership development across the organization.

Employer Branding and Employee Value Proposition

• Developed and executed a strategic employer branding campaign to enhance the company’s talent attraction efforts, ensuring alignment with organizational values.
• Contributed to the creation of a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP), integrating market research insights to strengthen the company's position in the competitive talent landscape.

Sourcing and Talent Acquisition

• Specialized in headhunting and executive recruitment, successfully sourcing and placing senior leaders for key strategic roles at ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever (HUL).
• Led volume hiring efforts for sales roles at ICICI Bank, utilizing strategic sourcing methods to meet high-demand recruitment targets efficiently.