It was a homecoming of sorts for Ms. Pragya Mathur, alumnus, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow, who was back at the institute to deliver a session on Human Resources. In her eight years’ professional career since the PGDM, Ms. Mathur has made giant strides and is now the Chief Manager, HR, Dainik Bhaskar Group. Hence, the talk on “Role of Training & Development in HR” was not only educational for students, but they also gained insight from the experiences shared by Ms. Mathur, which made the topics of the talk easier to relate to.

Ms. Mathur’s is a success story. In her prolific career so far, she also held the position of Senior Manager, Reliance General Insurance, which gave her a good foundational knowledge of the field of HR. That might not be surprising for a student who had been a Gold Medalist in HR during her PGDM. Due to this experience, her presence alone was inspiring enough for the students who were keen to emulate her success. Her deep understanding of the subject helped them gain further knowledge about the field where employment opportunities are growing in leaps and bounds.

In fact, Ms. Mathur was of the opinion that HR has opened new horizons for young professionals who have brilliant opportunities ahead of them. Some of the important avenues of HR she recounted included, “Retention, recruitment, reward and recognition, work life balance, learning and development, and to build brand equity for HR. Learning and development, in particular, acts as game changer and is also concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings”.

Throughout her talk, it was obvious to students that HR offers them exciting opportunities. This is important for students as explore the many directions that they can take in their careers. Being a student of the institute herself, Ms. Mathur could use anecdotes and share experiences that instantly struck a chord with students. What’s more, she also participated in an interactive session, which gave students a comprehensive learning experience that included a peek into the real world corporate life of an HR professional.

Reflecting on her own journey in the field, Ms. Mathur said, “It has been quite motivating. From my experience you need to be a ‘buddy’ to your colleagues and not their trainer. It helps you gain their trust, which is crucial to make people believe in you and make sure they work out of security rather than pressure.” She also talked about the importance of small things like wishing colleagues well on their birthdays, responding to their messages and trying to sort out their problems, which go a long way in building a bond with them.

It was interesting to hear Ms. Mathur talk about the importance of what you learn from books, because everything that gets implemented in the corporate world, is in them already. She also had helpful advice for students during the transition period of becoming full-fledged professionals: “There is a three month adjusting period when you enter the corporate world. It’s a process you go through and is a learning experience. I am glad Jaipuria, Lucknow prepared me for it because I had the confidence to outshine students from IIMs”. With her experience and unending success, students would be wise to listen to these parting words. After all, Ms. Mathur is not only an alum who wishes them well; she is also an individual who has embarked on a path that many of them hope to emulate.

By Line: Richard George, Coordinator Media, PR & IT Team.