American author, Annie Dillard famously said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” And, rightly so! A majority of people across the world spend most of their time at work. In fact, several reports suggest that the average person spends approximately 90,000 hours at their workplace throughout their lifespan.Needless to say, the quality of one’s work life hugely impacts one’s overall quality of life. Human Resource expert, Sharanya Narayan agrees. Currently, the Head-People & Culture at Turbostart, Sharanya says that an individual spends at least eight hours at work each day. She strongly believes that no employee should be waking up with Monday blues. On the contrary, they should be excited and pumped about going to the office. This can only be achieved by cultivating a positive and warm work environment. Sharanya is an expert at exactly that! As a People & Culture Leader, her primary aim is to bridge the gap between the management and employees and inculcate a positive work culture.

An organizational psychologist by qualification, Sharanya’s expertise lies in inculcating a work culture that is positive, respectful, fun, engaging, and productive for the organization. She essays her role with empathy, respect, and understanding to create a workplace that helps employees grow professionally and personally. Upon her return to India in 2016 post her MSc in Organizational Psychiatry & Psychology from King’s College, London University, Sharanya was disheartened to see that even established companies did not focus on leveraging the benefits brought on board by an organizational psychology expert. She observed a change in the way the importance of organizational psychology grew over the last 5 years and is now part of Turbostart, an organization that has an open culture, devoid of many hierarchies. Sharanya now aims to create an environment within Turbostart that is employee friendly and mentally stimulating for all. In her role as the Head of People & Culture at Turbostart and its portfolio companies, she is responsible for hiring and retaining the right talent, keeping employees engaged, creating policies, and inculcating a positive work culture. In an in-depth conversation with Women Entrepreneur India magazine, she speaks about her professional journey, the strategies she leverages as an HR leader, her learnings from the pandemic, and much more.

Take us through your early educational journey and the prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

I always knew I wanted to do something that is people-centric, I loved psychology as a subject when I studied it for the first time and decided to complete my UG in Applied Psychology Honours. It gave me a great perspective on how psychology is present and influences every area of life. While I interned with a psychiatrist during my under graduation, I saw most people come with anxiety and depression due to work stress which is when I decided that specializing in organizational psychology and mental health at workplace is the path I want to take. People spend approximately 8-10 hours in their workplace, and if a considerable part of the day is not spent happy, it also impacts their personal life along with their professional life. I thus went on to study my MSc in Organizational Psychiatry & Psychology from King’s College, London. I always wanted to work in my country and for its people, I thus came back to India immediately after my Master’s and started working as an HR Executive where I started off with talent acquisition and gradually moved on to working in learning & development, employee engagement, and policy-making for enhancing the employee experience. I then worked in a few startups to set up the processes and policies for employees to have a positive working environment and experience.

Introduce us to Turbostart? Tell us more about the work culture and environment you strive to create within the organization.

Turbostart identifies innovative startups across global hotspots, sectors and stages and provides seed funding and guidance to build a successful business enterprise. Our team comprises of business leaders, strategy consultants, serial entrepreneurs and venture investors who are eager to help start-ups derive value beyond investment. Over the last 3 years, Turbostart has invested over $20 Million across 30+ startups and seen over 5x value appreciation as their business grows bigger.

Turbostart has a very open culture with a flat structure, which is what I love the most about it. I aim to create an environment here that continues to be employee friendly and mentally stimulating for all; where employees can express their ideas and opinions freely without being bothered about hierarchy and where they would genuinely feel the passion for Turbostart and would work beyond just the monetary benefits. It is important that all are driven by the vision and work culture and go an extra mile to work towards our common goal and feel the pride in Turbostart’s success. It would not just be about individual growth but the team’s and company’s growth. At Turbostart, respect and humility will always be the core of the culture. For us, mental health of employees will always be priority. There would be ample growth opportunities, rewards, recognition and celebration.. I also aspire to align job roles with the skills and interests of employees. We will create a cohesive team where employees are not just colleagues but friends. Priority will also be given to good work-personal life balance. At the end of the day, we wish to create a workforce with motivated and driven employees that contribute to high productivity and company success. Lastly, I wish that no employee would experience Monday blues, they would in-fact feel excited to wake up and come to work.

Throw some light on the different responsibilities you shoulder as the Head – People & Culture at Turbostart. Tell us about some strategies and methodologies you leverage in your current role.

Working in a startup gives me ample opportunities to create processes and policies from scratch. My responsibilities for Turbostart and its portfolio companies are vast. They include hiring and retaining the right talent, keeping employees engaged, creating various policies, and inculcating a positive work culture. People make the company. Thus, I focus on the attitude of the person while hiring (apart from skills). It is imperative that one is positive, open to learning, humble, passionate, and friendly to adapt well with the team and be aligned with our culture. It is important to align employees with the right role for the best interest of the employees and company performance. Therefore, I regularly follow up with employees on their work profiles and interest to understand if they are engaged and productive. As the People & Culture Head, I also collaborate closely with the leadership team to understand their thoughts and values and align the policies with that while making them employee friendly. I also work with the leadership team to understand their vision and goals and employ strategies to align all employees to it so we all work with the same shared passion and vision.

Tell us about the various challenges you encounter as a people leader in today’s times. How do you overcome the roadblocks that you face?

The biggest challenge I encounter in today’s time is people being habitual to remote working post pandemic. Many employees enjoy the flexibility remote working provides, but this also becomes a roadblock when hiring people and telling them to work from the office. Working from home surely has its pros but it cannot be replaced with social interactions and working on the same floor. Working from home is unhealthy in the long run, social interactions are vital for forming bonds, collaborating, effective communication, and staying engaged. I often deal with this by sharing the benefits of working from the office with employees. Employees are also provided the flexibility to work from home when needed. We create a fun work environment that is engaging and friendly. We also encourage regular discussions and in-personal meetings for better coordination and communication. Personal connection is prioritized within the company and we organize in-person events and social gatherings as well.

Enumerate some of the most significant milestones you have achieved throughout your professional journey.

 When I came back from the UK in 2016, post my master’s, I noticed that several big companies also failed to understand the importance of organizational psychology and focused on MBA in HR. It was a time when I would retrospect if I had made the right career choice. I started off in talent acquisition, not knowing what the next plan would be. Soon within a year, I initiated the L&D function and engagement activities which weren’t there earlier. I also volunteered to work on policy documents and get my hands on everything to have a complete understanding of all aspects of the HR function. My biggest milestone was entering the start-up space where I got the opportunity to build the culture of a company, the opportunity to create policies and processes from scratch, head the HR function specifically focusing on organizational development and culture, and have complete ownership of creating a company’s culture and policies that reflect the same.

What has been your success mantra as a business leader?

One of the most important mantras I follow is to take risks and not be afraid. I have shifted jobs when they did not make me happy, I never bothered about people questioning my stability or not getting another job, or moving out of my comfort zone because nothing is more important than my mental health. If a company culture seems negative to me, I would not continue working there. I have also been very vocal with my thoughts and ideas and always shared my independent opinion in the workplace.

"People Spend Approximately 8-10 Hours In Their Workplace, If A Considerable Part Of The Day Is Not Spent Happy, It Impacts Their Personal As Well As Professional Life"

‘There is nothing you cannot do’. My belief in myself has also helped me reach where I am. There are always people who will try to put you down, I too have experienced many of them but your belief in yourself and your ability is what is important. My mother always says ‘When you do something, do it properly or don’t do it at all’. I have always taken that seriously and do every task with as much perfection as I can. It is also important to enjoy your work and be passionate about it. Find a place where you like the work, the people, and the culture. It’s ok to not have a long-term plan. I would never know how to answer the ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ question, I never made a long-term plan, and I still don’t. I take each day as it comes and enjoy the work to the fullest.Lastly, everyone is on their own journey, don’t compare your journey with others.

Sharanya Narayan, Head-People & Culture, Turbostart

An Organizational Psychologist By Qualification, Sharanya Is Currently The Head-People & Culture At Turbostart. By Leveraging Her Expertise She Aims To Create A Work Environment That Is Employee Friendly And Mentally Stimulating For All