Vantage Influencers Podcast

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore why AI literacy is becoming an essential workplace skill and how organizations can prepare employees to navigate an increasingly AI-driven work environment.   Host Riha is joined by Yael Irom, Head of Talent Development and AI Leader Transformation , to discuss how HR leaders can build AI awareness, strengthen employee confidence in...

For decades, the traits that seem to get people promoted, decisiveness, assertiveness, competitiveness have quietly worn a "masculine" label. And the traits that get people liked, say for example empathy, patience, collaboration, got filed under "feminine," treated like a good thing to have rather than an actual leadership skill.   So, we're asking a pretty uncomfortable question: does corporate l...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Sarah Cooper Truchard, Manager, Talent and Leadership Development at CITGO, shares her perspective on why soft skills are becoming increasingly important in an AI-driven workplace. The conversation explores how AI is reshaping workplace skill requirements, why human capabilities such as communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and...

Most companies will tell you they value emotional intelligence. Far fewer can tell you what that actually looks like on a Tuesday afternoon, when someone's frustrated in a meeting, or a team is quietly burning out and nobody's said a word about it. I feel what's disappointing is that people treat emotional and social intelligence as some add-ons to culture. But realizes later , that it's not.    S...

When most companies talk about employer  brand , they mean the careers page, the job ads, the polished video of people laughing in a break room. But ask anyone who's  actually worked  somewhere, and  they'll tell you the real brand is what happens after you sign the offer, how  you're  paid, how  you're taken care of, whether the company keeps its word.  So today, we're  looking at employer  brand...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore how HR is evolving from a traditional cost center into a more strategic and commercially driven function that contributes directly to business growth.   Host Riha is joined by Shivali Anand, Country HR Head at  Geidea , to discuss how HR leaders can build stronger business acumen, connect  people  decisions with organizational prior...

When most people picture M erger  &   A cquisition , they picture  spreadsheets, valuations , deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's  actually lived  through a merger or acquisition, and  they'll  tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.    So   in this episode ,  we're  looking at M&A from the  workfo...

When most people picture M erger  &   A cquisition , they picture  spreadsheets, valuations , deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's  actually lived  through a merger or acquisition, and  they'll  tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.    So   in this episode ,  we're  looking at M&A from the  workfo...

Almost every  HR team today can point to AI somewhere in their stack. Screening, scheduling, skills mapping, internal mobility, interview notes , something is  running on it. But if you talk to those teams honestly,  there's  usually a gap between having AI and  actually changing  how work gets done. The pilot impresses everyone in the demo, and then quietly fades the moment real hiring pressure r...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Srijith Nair, Director, Human Capital in the Middle East, shares thoughtful insights on the evolving role of artificial intelligence in HR. The conversation explores how HR leaders can move beyond the hype and apply AI meaningfully across recruitment, employee experience, workforce planning, and decision-making, while  maintaining  transparenc...

Belonging is a word we hear a lot in HR, but usually among people who share a language, a culture, a hometown. Now picture a workforce where  almost everyone  has come from somewhere else, often far from home. There, belonging  isn't  a survey  metric ,   it's  what decides whether someone just works for  you, or  truly stays and gives you their best.   And nowhere is that more real than in the Gu...

For decades, we've built companies around one assumption: that work is done by people. But that assumption is now changing, and changing fast. AI agents are no longer just tools we use; they're becoming teammates we work alongside. And that raises a big question for every leader and HR professional, how do you build an organization where humans and agents don't just coexist, but actually make each...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Dr. Sarmistha Roychowdhury, CHRO, Group Head HR, and Principal HR Advisor at  Vform   Tecnopacks  Limited, shares thoughtful insights on the evolving role of HR in boardroom decision-making. The conversation explores how HR leaders can move beyond traditional operational responsibilities and contribute more strategically through workforce insi...

Performance management is something  almost every  employee experiences, yet  it's  often one of the most debated aspects of work. While  it's  intended to support growth and development, many employees still view it as a box-ticking exercise rather than a meaningful conversation.   And as workplaces continue to evolve, there's growing pressure on organizations to rethink how they measure, discuss...

G rowth is often seen as a sign that things are going right for an  organisation . Bigger teams, new markets, rapid expansion, all of it sounds exciting from the outside. But internally, growth can also bring a lot of pressure, uncertainty, and cultural shifts that companies may not always be fully prepared for.   Because ,   I think we  now understand   the reality is, scaling a business and scal...

Every organisation  wants to be called resilient. But when you look closely, resilience is no longer  just about surviving  disruption or handling uncertainty.  It's  also about how people adapt, recover, and continue moving forward during constant change.   And that's where HR has started playing a much bigger role than before. Because culture, leadership, communication, employee well-being, all...

Conversations around  Emiratisation  often become very  numbers-driven . We hear targets, percentages , and hiring  goals. But  somewhere in  between all of that,  there's also a very human side to the conversation. And honestly,  that's what makes this discussion so interesting right now. Because the UAE is evolving rapidly, workplaces are evolving rapidly, and naturally, the expectations of Emir...

In this episode of the  Vantage HR Influencers Podcast ,  Vikas Singh Baghel, Associate Director, HR at  HCLTech , shares thoughtful insights on how HR can move from reactive hiring to predictive talent planning. The conversation explores how workforce data,  skills  intelligence, business alignment, and proactive talent strategies can help organizations  identify  future talent needs before gaps...

In this episode of the  Vantage HR Influencers Podcast ,  Ana Carolina Mason, Head of HR in the UAE , shares thoughtful insights on how HR can build culture in factories and high-pressure operational environments. The conversation explores how trust, clear communication, leadership visibility, employee safety, and consistent  people  practices help teams stay aligned, engaged, and resilient in dem...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore how leaders can build a strong organizational culture that becomes a true differentiator during periods of uncertainty, disruption, and change.   Host Riha is joined by  Sana Khammash, Culture and Leadership Consultant at  EquaMind  Consultancy ,  to discuss why culture matters most when business conditions are unpredictable. Togeth...

When we talk about rewards at work, the conversation often goes back to familiar territory, pay bands, annual hikes, and benefits packages. But the reality is, the way people work today looks nothing like the systems these rewards were originally designed for. Work has become more fluid. Expectations have shifted.    Which brings us to a question that's hard to ignore:  Is the traditional rewards...

Discussions around high-performing teams tend to gravitate toward the end results, the metrics, the milestones, the victories. Yet what often goes unexamined is the journey that leads teams there. Rather than focusing on performance as an outcome, it's far more valuable to explore what lays the groundwork for it. And why things tend to fall apart even when everyone means well. To shed light on thi...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast,  Hemdeep  Singh, Director of Customer Success at  Darwinbox , shares practical insights on how HR transformation impacts business outcomes by connecting people strategy, technology, and operational execution. The conversation explores how organizations can move from fragmented HR processes to more agile, integrated, and data-driven systems tha...

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Amit Thukral , Head of HR Information Systems  at  Fidelity  International ,  shares practical insights on how AI-enabled HR systems are transforming global workforces through data and automation. The conversation explores how organizations can move from fragmented, manual processes to intelligent, integrated systems that improve decision-maki...

W e've  all been in rooms where the loudest voice  seems to take  the lead. But if you really think about it, influence  doesn't always come from who speaks the most. It often comes from who people choose to listen to.   And  that's  exactly what  we're  unpacking today.   Because in a world that often rewards visibility and constant presence,  there's  a quieter kind of leadership  that's just as...