Pooja Walavalkar

Total Rewards / Compensation & Benefits

• Managed end-to-end Compensation & Benefits operations including payroll inputs, reimbursements, employee benefits administration, and compensation-related employee queries.
• Worked on salary benchmarking and market data analysis to evaluate compensation competitiveness and support internal salary alignment discussions.
• Conducted compa-ratio analysis, employee cost analysis, and salary positioning reviews for compensation planning and decision-making.
• Prepared increment and promotion working sheets, compensation fitment data, and bonus validation reports during annual compensation review cycles.
• Coordinated annual manpower budgeting, people cost forecasting, and headcount tracking in alignment with business requirements and approved budgets.
• Maintained compensation MIS, HR dashboards, and workforce analytics for leadership review, budgeting discussions, and manpower planning.
• Worked on salary structure alignment New Wage Code implementation and statutory compliance requirements.
• Validated payroll inputs including attendance data, salary revisions, incentive payouts, full & final settlements, and employee master data to ensure payroll accuracy.
• Administered employee benefit programs including insurance coordination, reimbursements, and NPS, tax saving benefits, employee communication related to benefits and compensation policies.
• Ensured adherence to compensation governance frameworks, approval matrices, HR policies, and employee data confidentiality standards.
• Implemented rewards & recognition initiatives including annual rewards, spot awards and long-term reward programs aligned with performance and organizational objectives.
• Supported process improvement and standardization initiatives across Compensation & Benefits and HR Operations to enhance process efficiency and governance.

HRBP and HR operations

• Worked closely with business leaders and managers to support day-to-day HR matters, workforce planning, employee concerns, and business requirements.
• Managed employee relations matters including grievance handling, employee concerns, disciplinary discussions, and critical employee conversations with a balanced and employee-centric approach.
• Supported performance management processes including goal setting, performance review cycles, calibration discussions, performance improvement plans (PIPs), and manager enablement.
• Worked closely with managers on workforce planning, headcount movements, employee retention discussions, and organizational restructuring requirements.
• Executed employee engagement initiatives, policy communication, and stakeholder interactions to enhance employee experience, governance, and operational effectiveness.

• Managed end-to-end recruitment lifecycle, ensuring timely closure of positions.
• Coordinated pre- and post-joining formalities to ensure seamless onboarding experience.
• Conducted structured onboarding and induction sessions for new employees.
• Maintained employee lifecycle processes including documentation, records, and policy adherence.
• Assisted in implementation and communication of HR policies and procedures.

• Led end-to-end recruitment and HR operations for 400+ employees, overseeing onboarding, payroll input processing, managing field-based employee grievance resolution, exit management, and HR MIS reporting to support business decisions.

• Led bulk recruitment and improved hiring efficiency by streamlining recruitment processes and implementing structured job profiling.
• Contributed to organizational effectiveness through employee surveys and measurement initiatives.
• Developed the employee handbook and redesigned the employee joining kit to enhance new hire experience.

• Conducted assessments and development centers, maintained MIS, coordinated with clients for assessments and feedback, and prepared behavioral-based competency assessment reports.