Nishtha Saxena Sehgal

Company Overview: The company owns and operate waffle specialty stores across India

Brand: Belgian Waffle Factory

• Led comprehensive business setup and scaling for a multi-outlet QSR brand, demonstrating hands-on experience in Organization Design, product development,supply chain management and multi-channel strategy.

• Directed finance and budget management for the entire business, ensuring profitability and resource optimization.

• Cultivated relationships with key stakeholders, partners, and vendors to drive growth opportunities.

• Led the launch of new products into the marketplace by creating product roadmaps outlining feature sets and release dates

• Conducted target market research to scope out industry competition and identify advantageous trends.

• Addressed legal and managerial issues with external agencies

• Applied entrepreneurial strategies to navigate challenges and drive growth in a fast-paced environment, showcasing tolerance for ambiguity and resilience

• Partnered with SME sectors to optimize talent ecosystems, enhancing organizational effectiveness and employee engagement.
• Conducted Culture audits and HR practices audits for investment readiness in B2C Apparel retail, providing strategic HR advice.
• Mentored founders on people practice readiness and execution plans for B2B Grocery startups, demonstrating expertise in Organization Design and Change Management.

Company Overview: A B2B E-commerce food and grocery platform serving the kirana stores across India, funded by Artal Asia Pte Ltd, Heron Rock, Sabre Investment, Arkam Ventures, Jarvis Reserve Fund, Reaction Global, VII Ventures and others
• Managed the entire HR and administration function for 550+ on-roll and 3000 off-roll employees across diverse verticals.

• Led a 25-member HR team across India, providing guidance and direction in HR matters.

Company Overview: A young FMCG company funded by PE Funded by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (Private Equity arm of Goldman Sachs-US Multinational Investment Bank) and Mitsui Corporation (Japanese Private Equity Player)
• Managing a workforce of 550 on rolls employees and 650 distributor sales team across India

• Responsible for the entire HR and administration function; handled a team of 9 resources

Success stories:

• Served as a trusted HR strategic advisor to C-suite executives, aligning people strategies with aggressive business objectives for a PE-funded FMCG company.

• Achieved a 70 million INR reduction in manpower costs over 2.5 years, through organizational restructuring and performance-based compensation, demonstrating strong Finance and budget management

• Led the development of organizational Vision, Values, and Strategic Intent , and revamped compensation philosophy, including job evaluations and grade structures, demonstrating Organization Design expertise.
• In response to COVID-19, actively engaged with cross-functional teams to gauge the organizational pulse, preventing complacency and ensuring continuity.

• Played a key role in redefining the business operating model post-lockdown, fostering trust with management, which resulted in improved organizational performance and a higher retention rate

• Successfully reduced annualized attrition to 4% from 11%, significantly enhancing retention and employee engagement.

• Designed and institutionalized company-wide Recognition & Rewards (R&R) and Incentive programs to drive motivation and performance across the organization.
• Developed and rolled out Capability Frameworks for all levels, institutionalizing a capability calendar and successfully launching it across India.
• Implemented a Talent Management initiative, facilitating the internal movement of over 30 resources from the secondary workforce to permanent roles, built a strong talent pipeline through the Young Talent Program for both sales and non-sales functions, successfully placing emerging leaders in state-level sales leadership positions.
• Designed and launched national engagement initiatives for the secondary workforce and their families, significantly improving retention rates among this group.
• Led recruitment for critical management positions, including Sales Head, Sales Strategy Head, Brand Manager, R&D Head, and Sales
Managers.
• Modernized recruitment and learning processes by implementing technologies like chatbots, video interviews, and e-onboarding, aligning with Talent Attraction and Selection.

Company Overview: A US based Healthcare organization funded by Mitsui Corporation (Japanese Private Equity Player)

•Managed HR for aflagship JCI and NABH accredited hospital , overseeing 1100+ employees across Asia.
• Handled a team of 5 resources

Success Stories:

• Achieved 98% manning for all critical positions in hospitals since joining, with a zero rejection rate of candidates by Business Unit heads.
• Fostered strong relationships with medical practitioners, driving the shift from clinician-driven to process-driven HR practices.

• Increased employee engagement score from 41% to 73%, elevating Columbia Asia to the top spot across South Asia within the Columbia Group.
• Reduced attrition to under 30%, significantly outperforming the industry average of 50%.

• Contributed to a cross-functional team (CFT) to streamline the discharge process, reducing the time from 3.5 hours to 1.5 hours.

• Managed two annual HR budgeting cycles independently, ensuring effective resource allocation and financial planning. Responsible for overseeing the annual HR budget of 350 million INR.
• Recognized by the NABH accreditation board, with HR being acknowledged as a strength department for the first time in 9 years.

• Successfully handled harassment and grievance cases, ensuring compliance with process guidelines and resolving issues without escalation.

Company Overview: A Germany based Multi-National Corporation, operating in 30 countries across B2B and B2C complimentary segments
• In India, was part of the team and successfully bought the aggressive expansion plans to light

• Strong HR business partnership with business leaders on strategic level decision making, building culture and communication channels within the organization

Success Stories:

• Consistently increased employee engagement scores over four years, reaching 83%
• Enhanced METRO's employer brand, earning several national and international accolades for HR excellence, including:

1. NHRD: Best Integrated Talent Management (2016)
2. Aon Hewitt: Best Employer (2016)
3. Great Places to Work: Ranked 2nd among retail companies
4. World HRD Congress: Best Talent Management, Rewards & Recognition Framework Award, among others.

•Managed the entire lifecycle of a Global Young Talent Program, demonstrating expertise in Talent Management and Succession Planning across five countries, including India, China, Japan, Pakistan, Ukraine, and Russia.
• Led impactful HR projects, such as:

1. Implemented a new store structure, resulting in a 0.25% reduction in overall manpower costs while maintaining similar employee productivity.
2. Launched India's first HoReCa Experience Center in partnership with the Army Welfare Education Society, driving growth in the HoReCa business.
3. Introduced the METRO HR Academy in partnership with the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), focusing on critical store-level skills.
4. Established an Innovation Council to drive engagement across functions, fostering ideation and a sense of belonging.

• Delivered business-impacting capability development programs.

• Institutionalized METRO Laurels, a comprehensive Rewards & Recognition framework, across all organizational levels.

• Conceptualized and institutionalized several engagement programs and contributed to CSR initiatives, creating a 3-year roadmap for the CSR framework.

Worked on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) models of HR Projects:

• IT (Ness Technology): Designed and implemented a comprehensive
Corporate Academy, including a competency and assessment framework.
• Telecom (Mahindra Comviva): Developed and launched the learning department, directly impacting business performance and employee development.
• Service Industry (Barbeque Nation): Created and streamlined end to- end HR processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the organization.
• Education (VIBGYOR High School): Developed a Teacher Engagement Program aimed at enhancing staff satisfaction and performance.

• Banking (Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank): Designed a customer orientation training program tailored for front-line banking staff to improve customer service and satisfaction.