Our team spoke to Glory Nelson—Chief People and Tech Strategy Officer, Xebia. Well-known as a techno-domain thought leader, Glory Nelson has the unique ability to find solutions to critical business problems while delivering highly acclaimed projects within planned budgets and timelines. Chief People and Tech Strategy Officer at Xebia, Glory is a seasoned leader with experience of over 25 years in guiding and nurturing people.
She has been playing multiple roles in enabling business and creating thought leadership by blending technology and processes. Recently, she has been working on various strategies to attract, engage and retain talent as the key to handling growth in her company’s business area. Another space she continues to focus on is attracting fresh talent from the market and transforming them into digital geeks through the company’s Budding Craftsmanship Programme.
How has been your journey as a chief people and tech strategy officer? Which are some of the major contributions that come at the top of your mind?
I have had a long career and have seen ups and downs in my professional journey. There have been many instances where the situation was tough and unclear, and I was in a desperate position to make things work. The story of David and Goliath has always inspired me in such situations. David was a small boy in the eyes of Goliath but he had the courage, conviction, and that he will be able to overcome Goliath. With the same conviction and quick action, he was able to win the battle. This has always inspired to stay motivated and remain calm and fearless while taking the right decisions to move further in my career and achieve goals.
The beginning was great – But within two and a half months of working form office, the pandemic struck and all of us were forced to work from home. But thankfully, before the work from home option was forced upon us, we as an organization had worked on a few initiatives. First, we had finalized on the adoption of a collaborative tool which came in handy during the work only from home months. Also, we had revamped our work from home policy, along with our communication policies. While these steps were not taken with pandemic–related emergency in mind, but the timing did play into our hands. Thanks to all of these factors, our transition to work from home was really smooth.
The beginning was great – But within two and a half months of working form office, the pandemic struck and all of us were forced to work from home. But thankfully, before the work from home option was forced upon us, we as an organization had worked on a few initiatives.
Once we got into WFH mode, the main focus of the organization and the HR team was employee engagement – because we realized the stress everyone was going through due to the pandemic. As a part of this initiative, not only did we introduce useful policies, but also executed a series of employee engagement activities in order to keep the team connected and be prepared to tackle the effects of the pandemic. Activities that promote health and motivation of people, sessions with some great speakers, lessons from yoga gurus were conducted regularly to help employees manage their anxiety-laden periods better.
Another important activity that has helped in the smoother transition of WFH was our communication policy. Right from the CEO to everyone on the leadership team, project managers, or HR – everyone was connecting with people at regular intervals to keep them updated about what is happening at an organizational level. The issues faced were highlighted, so that employees at all levels had proper information. The response of employees has been extremely positive and participation was also high, and that could be seen in the work that they were doing. This flexibility helped us to grow faster when the world started moving towards normalcy. We started ramping up too, as we could see growth during the WFH!
One of the important thing that we could feel good about during this time, is the fact that we received a certification for ‘Great places to work’ in March 2021. The recognition reinforced the belief that ours was one of the best places to work, and since it was from a reputed third party – it really made us feel great.
What is the current staff strength of the company and how is its composition?
At present, there are about 1500 employees in Xebia Global Services alone. The composition of employees is healthy – If seen from a gender angle, the organization has almost 20% female workforce. Geographically, we are spread all over the country – thanks to working from home. The growth in this section is predominantly offshore, even when servicing onsite customers.
What are the employee recognition and appraisal policies at the organization? Was there any roll out of promotions and bonuses during the lockdown?
Under the employee recognition and appraisal process, we have a half-yearly R&R program that rewards people at a leadership level. There has been no change to the appraisal process of the organization; we ensured people got their bonuses last year, and those who were eligible for promotions received them too. There was no change in terms of employee recognition and reward.
In addition, we had other activities, and one of them is a monthly occurrence known as “Go the Extra Mile”- GEM Award. Here, the managers appreciate their team members for doing a great job immediately – without waiting for a formal occasion. Also, the best developers, teams, CoE contribution, and many other categories were recognized and rewarded.
There has been no change to the appraisal process of the organization; we ensured people got their bonuses last year, and those who were eligible for promotions received them too. There was no change in terms of employee recognition and reward.
An interesting activity we conducted involved a new platform for R&R, which allows people to appreciate their fellow Xebians- and this can be seen and liked by others. Points are credited for their acts of kindness and helpful nature, and other desirable values they add to the system. The same points can be redeemed for anything from Gift cards, vouchers, services and products.
Going forward, how will the future workplace be when everything returns to normal after due vaccination?
Personally, I believe it will be a hybrid environment. I believe that face-to-face interactions and meetings have a lot of benefits. So we would encourage people to come and work with the teams, because it really brings a lot of innovation and team spirit. At the same time, we believe in providing flexibility to people and they can choose to work for a couple of days from home or wherever they are. We have signed up with satellite offices too, which allows employees to go to a workspace nearby and get on with their tasks without worrying about power cuts and other distractions. This also brings the team together, cultivates a sense of belongingness, and helps them save time and energy by cutting down the commute time to mere minutes. And they don’t have to travel a long distance to have them to have the same experience.
What was the exclusive and innovative HR policy interventions put by you amidst the pandemic? How the pandemic contributed to your professional learnings?
This pandemic had a substantial impact on me as a person, and the lessons learned were mainly on the empathetic aspect. Listening to knowledgeable people and what they’re saying helps in understanding policies that have been rolled out.
One such policy came into action when the pandemic turned worse, and employee emergency fund policy had to be launched. The fund enables them to take required assistance to meet medical expenses. This is a worthy companion to the ‘People first’ value of Xebia, where the first thoughts and priorities always revolve around their employees – how to help them succeed, how to upskill them and how to give them a stress-free atmosphere.
