formerly National Tire Distributors

Raveen Bhatti

In an interview, Raveen Bhatti, director of learning & development and diversity, equity & inclusion at Groupe Touchette, discusses her views on the evolving HR industry.

What are some of the major challenges and trends that have been impacting the HR Industry lately?

We are in a digital age where companies, employees, customers, and other stakeholders are required more now than ever before; to adapt, embrace and evolve to technological and AI advancements to stay relevant and successful. McKinsey research predicts that 800 million jobs will be displaced by automation by 2030. That will result in a large skills gap within the workforce, further widening the ratio between the number of unemployed and the number of open vacancies. Organizations will want to invest in learning and development teams who will have the responsibility to partner with the senior leaders to understand the short and long-term strategic goals of the business, which in turn will help to determine the capabilities required and then design and implement programs to upskill the talent. Placing emphasis on building employees’ human skills (communication, leadership, and collaboration) is critical to evolving and finding harmony between this human and machine hybrid landscape we find ourselves in. Developing the people leaders within an organization is paramount to a successful and agile workforce because the frontline leaders have the greatest influence and impact on the company and will help the business lead into the future.

Other trends that we are seeing are that more and more employees are seeking improvements in overall benefits beyond salaries (Although salary is important) from companies to support them in the following areas: mental health and wellbeing, flexibility, childcare, and personal assistance services all of which have been highlighted during the pandemic and have no plans of going away! Employees are trying to find a balance between having stressful work environments and personal lives and are expecting more from their employers in that support.

2. What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of the major predicaments in the HR Industry?

What concerns me the most is that I want all employees:

To have the tools and resources they need to be successful in their roles

Are motivated; by feeling valued, heard, and respected through an inclusive culture

Are empowered to be innovative, contributing positively to the success of each other and the business

'By selecting the right platform for our business, we will be able to support and help our employees to continue being successful as we move forward.'

Organizations focusing authentically on their diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI&A) efforts are important to achieve the above. More candidates are evaluating current and future job offers based on the company's efforts in this area - one that is growing exponentially in recent years. When we talked earlier about understanding the short and long-term strategic goals, DEI&A should be rooted in those goals and a lens applied across the entire business. When developing our people leaders, it is important to focus on building their self-awareness of how they show up as leaders, the biases and prejudices they carry, and then equip them with tools to manage those biases and prejudices in order to be more inclusive. A common phrase that is used in society is Well, they had good intentions¦. Unfortunately, that is just an excuse for undesirable behavior. Instead, we want to align our intentions with the impact we make with the words we say and actions we take. A friend of mine mentioned to me early a few years back that a leader who does not openly show they are inclusive is not an inclusive leader! That resonated with me deeply and furthered my desire and passion to learn more about what I could do to be a change agent in organizations that I work for and with. Employees look to their leaders to see what behavior is tolerated and expected and speak to the culture that is fostered within the organization; as such, leaders have a great responsibility for what perceptions employees have about what the company says and does and whether there is alignment between the two.

Can you tell us about the latest project that you have been working on and what are some of the technological and process elements that you leveraged to make the project successful?

Our company went through an acquisition in the last ten months, and now that the integration period is ending, it is time to look at how we can transform with a continuous improvement lens. In keeping the 70-20-10 learning framework in mind (70 percent of the learning takes place on the job in the flow of work, 20 percent through different collaborations and interactions (stretch projects/tasks, mentorships, coaching, apprenticeships, job shadowing, etc.) and 10 percent through formal learning in the classroom and digital formats), we are looking at how we can better support and develop our internal talent for their own professional development, and in turn for them to be able to reinvest into the business closing that skills gap predicted¦ Currently we are evaluating our learning platform, remember the world is moving towards more digital technologies, and HR is not exempt! I have learned that for an ideal employee experience, learning platforms should combine; AI to customize the user experience, insightful people data analytics to continuously develop, and reinforcement capability so behaviors are built and information is retained (Fact: 90 percent of trained information is lost if not reinforced a minimum of three times in the following 30 days), gaming and social collaboration to keep learning fun and ensuring that each employee (on the frontline and in corporate roles) are able to easily access it. This project has been really exciting, learning about different platforms and companies and diving more into the needs of our current and future workforce. By selecting the right platform for our business, we will be able to support and help our employees to continue being successful as we move forward. The key is to focus on building and enhancing behaviors that will support the overall business strategic goals rather than information memorization; this is fundamental to building upon the capabilities required.

How can budding and evolving companies reach you for suggestions to streamline their business?

They can reach out to me via LinkedIn. I welcome discussions as it helps my own growth and continues my learning.