Interview

Nirupama VG
Nirupama VG
Founder & Managing Director, Ad Astra Consultants Pvt Ltd.

Nirupama is a serial entrepreneur and the brain behind Ad Astra. She co-founded Ad Astra in 2007 and today Ad Astra is the largest Women-Owned full suite Recruitment Soluons firm in India. She has more than 25 years of experience and has been a pioneer in building HR and Recruitment soluons firms from scratch and scaling them up. She co-founded & built three of India's largest HR and Recruitment Consulng firms which were acquired by Randstad, Aon Hewi, and ADP. She is considered a thought leader in the recruitment industry and her firm Ad Astra has placed candidates in 43 Countries worldwide. She was on the execuve council of the Execuve Recruiters Associaon and a career mentor with Monster-the worlds' largest job portal. She has been recognized as one of the top 25 women entrepreneurs building India Globally by Silicon India. Her firm Ad Astra was featured as a case study by the world-renowned Oxford Economics. Ad Astra was featured in the presgious Forbes Marquee India as to how women are going the extra mile in building firms globally.She mentors family businesses, especially woman entrepreneurs to strategize and scale. She has served on the board of a USD 1 Billion firm and consults with several other large organizaons in coaching their leadership team.

Q:What are the top three skills you believe will be essential for career success in the next 5–10 years?
A:1. Problem Solving ability: There are certain challenges which requires Critical thinking, Analytical reasoning and Creativity that can generate innovative solutions which AI or Tech cannot solve
2. Emotional Intelligence: Human skills like empathy, Social intelligence, Collaboration, Self-awareness become more valued in the coming days as they are crucial for Effective Leadership, Team dynamics & Customer relationships
3. Adaptability: There is a rapid change happening in Technological space, Professionals must be flexible & resilient and embrace the change.
Q:How can young professionals continuously upskill without feeling overwhelmed by constant change?
A:Embrace Microlearning: Utilize short online courses, podcasts, articles or videos during office break hours or commutes. This byte-sized learning approach makes it easier to fit professional development in to a busy schedule.
Leverage Workplace resources: Many organizations offer internal training, mentorship programs which will provide invaluable, contextual knowledge.
Q:How do you see digital transformation and new technologies changing the core skills and mindsets required for workplace in next five years?
A:There is a Shift from "Doing" to "Thinking" , routine & repetitive tasks are being automated, freeing up human workers to focus on higher-level, strategic and creative work. The mindset is shifting from simply executing tasks to analysing data, solving complex problems and innovating. Agility, experimentation and collaboration with AI are some major changes in people's mindset.
Q:What is one traditional workplace practice you believe organizations should stop doing to better adapt to the rapid changes in today's work environment, and why?
A:Organizations should stop the traditional practice of evaluating performance based on time spent in the office or on a task. Annual performance reviews have become outdated, instead shift to a results-oriented, outcome-based model.
Q:How can organizations maintain collaboration, innovation, and culture in a hybrid or remote-first environment?
A:This requires a Strategic effort. Over-communicate with purpose-Utilize a mix of synchronous(virtual calls) & asynchronous(collaboration tools) communication and must ensure everyone stays aligned.
Focus on shared experiences, not just shared spaces-Culture isn't about a physical office, it’s about shared values and experiences. Organize virtual team building activities, celebrate milestones in public digital forums. Invest in right technology and provide employees with necessary digital tools which are user-friendly for seamless collaboration.
Q:How do you see the dynamics of leadership evolving in today’s environment, where adaptability, empathy, and collaboration have become as important as strategic vision?
A:From knowing all the answers to asking the right questions, from strategic vision to shared vision & from authority to influence, leaders roles have evolved. Empowering their team to find solutions and build a shared purpose and a collaborative environment where every voice is valued.
Q:With AI-driven recruitment tools becoming mainstream, how do we balance efficiency with ensuring candidates feel truly ‘seen’ as individuals?
A:Let AI handle the tedious repetitive tasks like resume screening, scheduling and initial candidate communication and keep the human touch through personalised communication, storytelling about culture and transparent candidate experiences.