Unilever ANZ and APAC CHRO Shruti Ganeriwala answers tough HR questions, including how to implement unpopular change and keep yourself grounded when expectations are high.
In the latest episode of The Big Ask, AHRI put a list of HR’s tough questions to Shruti Ganeriwala, Chief Human Resources Officer for Unilever ANZ and APAC.
From HR initiatives that land well in one market and flop in another, to coaching a resistant executive and rebuilding trust after a cultural issue, Ganeriwala shares practical advice for HR practitioners navigating change and uncertainty.
Watch the video below or read our highlights.
Video highlights
Q: Some of my HR initiatives are working well in an Australian context, but have flopped in some of our other Asian markets. How can I ensure they resonate across all global markets?
Shruti Ganeriwala: We recently made a massive change to our HR operating model. Uptake in Australia and New Zealand was very quick, but across some of our Asian markets we faced more resistance.
In hindsight that’s quite obvious, because they have more hierarchical cultures. So my advice is: don’t underestimate the impact of culture in different markets, and always plan for it. Be willing to course correct as you go.
Q: How can you start to rebuild trust with the workforce after a significant cultural issue has been uncovered?
Shruti Ganeriwala: There’s always legal advice that you can’t talk about it, and that’s true. You can’t talk about person A because that’s confidential. But you can talk about the flavour of the issue and the action the business took.
Sometimes there’s a sense that nothing happens: “We knew this person was doing this, and nothing happened.” And as HR, you feel like shouting, “Yes, we did this, this and this, but I can’t tell you about that.”
So my advice is to be honest and open. While respecting personal confidentiality, talk about the issue you faced and the action the business has taken.
Q: What are your tips for managing the implementation of a change you anticipate will be unpopular with various stakeholders?
Shruti Ganeriwala: As HR teams, we’re so often at the front end of leading change. I think we can underestimate how long it takes even senior leaders to understand the business and personal impact, and then lead the rest of the business through it.
Sometimes change just happens to you because it’s come down globally. So I talk to stakeholders about anchoring ourselves to what’s in our locus of control, and about what we can change, course correct and mend as we implement in our market.
Some things are outside our control, and we just need to get on with it. For me, it’s two things: bring leaders on the journey, and anchor yourself to what’s in your locus of control.
“Sometimes there’s a sense that nothing happens: “We knew this person was doing this, and nothing happened.” And as HR, you feel like shouting, “Yes, we did this, this and this, but I can’t tell you about that.” – Shruti Ganeriwala, Chief Human Resources Officer for Unilever ANZ and APAC.
Q: How would you approach coaching an executive who’s resistant to feedback on their leadership skills?
Shruti Ganeriwala: I’d start by thinking about who they trust.
Maybe I don’t have a great relationship with them, or I’ve made business decisions in the past that they hold against me. So it’s not so much about me, it’s about how they get the right coaching on their leadership skills.
I’d have a conversation with the person they trust, then use different levers, whether that’s 360 feedback, an external coach or internal coaching. But I’d anchor it to finding the right person.
Q: What’s the most effective way for HR to challenge the executive team when decisions are moving faster than the organisation’s capacity to absorb change?
Shruti Ganeriwala: Start from the business need. This is the business direction, this is the business ask, and we will come to the party and do this. But let’s look at the impact and how we’ll manage it.
What are we going to stop doing? What are we going to change in the way we work? And where will we need leaders and line managers to play a bigger role?
Q: How do you personally stay grounded as a CHRO when you’re navigating sustained transformation, external uncertainty, and heightened expectations from the board and the workforce?
Shruti Ganeriwala: The first thing is leading with humility. I need to lead the team, inspire them and have a vision, but at the end of the day I don’t know the answer to all of the questions, and that’s absolutely fine.
We’ll figure it out together because we haven’t done this before. The second is reminding myself to be kind to myself. The way we talk to ourselves is never the way we’d talk to a close friend, and we can be really self-critical.
I think, “I shouldn’t have said that in that forum,” or “I should have made that decision earlier.” But you have to take a pause and be kind to yourself.
🧰 HR’s career resource toolkit
- Article: Read more about Shruti’s journey to CPO here.
- Watch: See the other videos in our Big Ask video series here
- Course: Overcoming stakeholder resistance short course.
- Event: Sign up for AHRI’s DEI Week webinar series, from 17-19 November, to hear from a range of practitioners and experts about trending DEI topics.
