Cross-Cultural Experience: Find Synergy in Differences

By Pranali Save

“Transitioning from leading local teams to diverse global teams has been a career-defining moment for me.”

For the second edition of our newsletter, we got valuable insights from Pranali Save, CHRO at Icertis. We talked about her professional journey, mentorship experience, and views on HR in the modern workplace.

Her work experience brought her tasks that gave her global exposure and
opportunities for cross-cultural learning. Discussing her experience in
organizations like SunGard, Tieto, and currently Icertis, she joined them
when they were undergoing certain transformational changes, and believes
that it is this phase of an organization where you can add the most value to
their growth.

Transformation means change, and with change comes the need to adapt.
With her culturally diverse experience, she believes in aligning with the
global way of working instead of maintaining rigidity in the functioning of a
business. Many organizations are now understanding the need for the use of
technology to increase efficiency, and are transitioning towards digital ways
of working. In this case, HR is no different.

HR tech is one of the key things moving forward. She describes it as a
hygiene factor for businesses to function since getting data insight is critical
to efficiency. To get equipped with the right tools and learn how to navigate
the use of technology for data analysis in HR, employees today need
education about the tools available for the same and practical exposure
through hands-on training.

Having commended the nature of this program, she believes that other than
academic knowledge, learning through experience is critical. This experience
doesn’t only come from working, but also from other sources, a key one
being mentorship. With experience in formal as well as informal mentorship,
she thinks that mentorship is not only for people who are struggling and
require external support, but is a popular course of action for all working
professionals.

This is because the insight professionals receive from
experienced mentors are imperative in catapulting toward higher positions in
their career. Her best mentorship experiences have been cross-cultural in
nature since the exposure gave her the opportunity to learn as well, and
helped find synergy in differences.

In the modern workplace, it’s important for technology and people to work
together to generate business value. Neither of those can replace each
other. While a personal touch to functions is important, technology is
something that stays constant even though people continue to move. With a
change in the workforce and business trends, digitalization is an efficient method of keeping track of it.

As we brought our discussion to an end, she talked about how mentoring is
a key to progress towards becoming agile leaders equipped with tools of
leadership and technology, and it is imperative for us to take advantage of
technological tools available today.