The road to success has its own share of hurdles. A true leader successfully overcomes the hurdles thrown at his/ her while setting an example for others to follow. Rucchi Awasthi, Director-People Success, Shipsy is one of those hardworking leaders who, even though, faced a lot of challenges in her HR journey, overcame all of it through sheer hard work and determination. Joining as a Talent Sources in IT recruitment without any prior experience in the same, she faced a lot of challenges in the beginning. However, she overcame all of it and today, after a career spanning more than 20 years, she is not just an HR professional, but also a certified POSH trainer and diversity and inclusion (D&I) advocate.

In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur, Rucchi shares her accidental move into HR, her share of struggles and how did she overcame them, and much more:

Shed Some Light On Your Early Educational Journey And Prior Industry Experience That You Bring To The Table. What Motivated You To Foray Into The Field Of HR And L&D?

I did my Master’s in English and my move into HR was completely accidental. One of my husband’s acquaintances who was an IT consultant offered me a role in recruitment after being impressed with some of my ideas. Initially, it was highly challenging due to my inexperience in IT functionalities and terminologies. However, I worked on my skills and successfully overcame the challenges. Having a supportive mentor also helped me a lot. I also have done many courses to upskill myself throughout the whole journey and now after more than 20 years in many reputed organizations, I am presently working for Shipsy as the Director-People Success.

What Are The Various Roles & Responsibilities That You Currently Shoulder At Shipsy? What Are Some Of The Major Challenges You Have Faced So Far As A Professional? How Do You Overcome Them?

Currently, I head the HR for Shipsy, a startup, which is quite an interesting challenge in itself. Here at Shipsy, we have a People First approach and work towards creating a great workplace for our employees. My previous experience in both startups and established organizations has given me a good insight into some of the best practices in the industry. Along with this regular peer-to-peer connections keep you abreast with the latest in the industry. I am also a certified POSH trainer and diversity and inclusion (D&I) advocate.

Challenges are great opportunities to bring out the best of your creativity and experience. They keep you motivated and keep the fire burning to do better. My initial move into the HR field was filled with challenges. As someone with no prior experience in IT recruitment, I joined a Talent Sourcer in the recruitment team. My unfamiliarity with the IT terminologies created huge challenges for me in the beginning. However I took it in my stride and whenever a JD came, I researched the words and terminologies that I couldn’t understand. Even my prior skillsets and experiences helped me handle interviews and conversations smoothly.

What Are Some Of The Unique Propositions Offered By Shipsy To Its Clients? How Has Your Past Industry Experience Been Helping You In Your Current Role As The Director At Shipsy?

At Shipsy, we empower organizations handling trade and logistics to accelerate business growth, optimize costs and enhance customer experiences using our smart end-to-end global logistics management platform. Our AI-powered platform and mobility suite seamlessly connect cross-border and local logistics by automating operations and ensuring intelligent 3PL management. Shipsy’s intuitive platform provides complete visibility of first, middle, and last-mile operations. It also unlocks operational efficiency and leverages real-time analytics to make informed decisions.

“Challenges are great opportunities to bring out the best of your creativity and experience. They keep you motivated and keep the fire burning to do better”

We’re partners to our customers in their success and we take immense pride in empowering our customers to optimize costs and boost profitability by leveraging our state-of-the-art solutions. My experience as a coach helps me blend politically deft observations with a frankness that will help the manager develop in their capacity to lead people and personally excel. Coaching is a gifted skill set all leaders should acquire.

How Do You Keep Yourself Abreast Of The Periodic Evolutions Occurring Within Your Respective Field Of Work? How Do You Foresee The HR Industry Evolving In The Near Future?

Being a voracious reader helps me stay updated on the latest trends and evolutions in the market. Even connecting with my peers belonging to the same industry helps a lot. From the evolution point of view, there are two big changes I can foresee in the HR industry, such as the change in standard leadership model and Companies will invest highly in employee engagement keeping in mind the need to go into hybrid workplaces.

Tell Us About The Milestones That You Have Achieved So Far? What Is Your Guiding Leadership Philosophy? What Advice Would You Like To Give To Budding Entrepreneurs?

The word “Milestone” means different things to different people. For me, life is about memorable moments, and each time I was able to make some positive change in someone's life has been a memorable moment for me. There is one leadership quote I truly believe and follow, which is “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence” by Sheryl Sandberg (COO, Facebook).

The advice that I would like to give to young women and girls is to always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep the faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.

Rucchi Awasthi, Director-People Success, Shipsy  

In a career spanning more than 20 years, Rucchi has been a part of many reputed organizations such as Ola, KFC, Schneider Electric, and so on as an HR professional. While facing many challenges at the beginning of her career due to her unfamiliarity with IT recruitment, she has overcome every bit of struggle and worked her way up to become a successful HR professional due to her perseverance and never-back-down attitude. Presently working at Shipsy as a Director-People Success, she is also a certified POSH trainer and diversity and inclusion (D&I) advocate.