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HR tEcHnoloGy HR Tech firm Atlas raises up to $200 Mn in series B from Sixth Street Growth
Atlas, an industry leader in employer of record (EOR) solutions and technology, has raised series B strategic equity investment of up to $200 million from Sixth Street Growth, the growth investing business of global investment firm Sixth Street, to support the company’s continued global expansion. The investment will further enhance the Atlas technology platform, offering more user flexibility through additional self-service and automation features, which will enable companies to scale faster, regardless of the number of people they are hiring. The funds will also support software localisation and real-time, in-region customer service support, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
REcRuitMEnt Tesco plans for India expansion; to hire 1,000 people
British retail giant Tesco has announced its plan to expand its operations in India. As per the announcement, the company will also hire 1,000 people across its technology centres in Bengaluru. According to various media sources, the hiring will be across multiple profiles like software engineers, system engineers, data scientists, product managers, architects, finance experts, and digital transformation and robotic process automation (RPA) experts.
India shows highest (+54%) employment outlook in APAC region: Report
According to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the global labor market remains strong with steady hiring expected for the remainder of 2022. Organisations in the IT industry report the most optimistic Outlook (+42%); followed closely by Banking, Real Estate, and Insurance (+37%). The brightest hiring intentions for next quarter are in Asia Pacific (+40%) and South and Central Americas (+39%), with the greatest expectations in Brazil (+56%) and India (+54%). Employers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) anticipate relatively stable hiring (+21%), yet Outlooks for countries near Ukraine fall by as much as -17% since last quarter.
Atlassian Corporation to hire over 1,500 employees by end of FY24
Atlassian Corporation, a provider of team collaboration and productivity software and the maker
Recruitment platform Ashby has raised $21.5 million in funding. The Series B round was led by F-Prime Capital with participation from Elad Gil, Lachy Groom, Semper Virens, Base Case Capital and Gaingels, bringing Ashby’s total raised to $34.5 million. The latest funding brings the hr tech firm's total capital to $34.5 million till date.
of Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket and Trello products, announced its plans to recruit over 1,500 new employees by the end of FY24. This is in alignment with the company’s major recruitment drive as the organisation reinforces its commitment to the India market.
EMPloyEE ExPERiEncE Only 57% of Singapore based employees rating their mental health to be in a “good” state: Report
According to a new report from Milieu Insight, in collaboration with Intellect, half of employees across Singapore, Indonesia and The Philippines experience burnout from work at least a few times a month. The results also show that Singapore’s workers are arguably faring the worst when it comes to burnout, with only 57% of Singaporeans rating their mental health to be “good”, “very good” or “excellent”, compared to 68% in Indonesia and 78% in the Philippines.
coMPEnSation & BEnEfitS 60% employees seek immediate access to their earned wages: Instant Financial Report
With financial constraints getting hold of the global job market amid the recession fears, a news study conducted by Instant Financial found that 60% of the respondents believe that all employers should offer staff immediate access to their earned wages every day. The study further revealed that 40% of respondents who resigned during the pandemic reported that they could have stayed back in case the would get hands on a portion of their salaries immediately. Another 56% said they probably would have stayed a month to over a year longer in their job if they had access to their earned pay.
New Zealand lifts living wage for lowincome earners
The national living wage in New Zealand has increased to $23.65 an hour, an amount meant to represent how much money each worker needs to fully take part in society. The 2022-2023 rate was based on 68% of the average hourly earnings in the country, which were at $34.76 in June 2021. It is also 90c more than the previous living wage of $22.75 last year. While the new living wage is voluntary for employers, more than 300 companies have already expressed their commitment to pay their workers at least half of the rate.
Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs to layoff hundreds
World-renowned banking firm Goldman Sachs is the latest company that has joined the ‘layoff’ bandwagon. According to various media sources, Goldman Sachs plans to cut several hundred jobs this month, a move which may not surprise many. This is because the Wall Street giant has conducted an annual culling cycle before, which has been on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.
EMPloyEE ManaGEMEnt 35% of firms willing to set up flex office spaces in non-metro cities
Hybrid working continues to be the most preferred workspace strategy, with 63% of the firms currently embracing it, as per a survey of large, mid-sized and small firms conducted by real estate professional services and investment management firm Colliers. Firms from the consulting, BFSI, and engineering sectors are at the forefront of adopting hybrid working. Three days a week in the office is the most popular hybrid working style for India Inc, with 26% of the firms preferring this. The survey indicated that this hybrid pattern allows businesses to pursue business goals without hindrances while offering better work-life balance to employees.
NewsmAker oF the moNth
The decline of the monarchy
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II, aged 96, marks a key moment in global politics. She was the longest reigning monarch in modern Britain and perhaps one of the most influential in the world. She was 27 when she became Queen and reigned for over seven decades, witnessing the dissolution of the old British empire and the growth of an entirely new world order in the post-war years. Her influence extended well beyond her country even after decolonisation, with dozens of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations recognising her crown all the way to her deathbed.
But in this century, for all the pop culture acclaim given to the British monarchy – with the late Queen appearing in more than a hundred films and television shows alone, a huge contrast to the discretion surrounding the image of almost every other remaining monarch in the world – and the weight and splendour given to her funeral proceedings, the monarchy's importance and relevance in the modern world are in question.
Looking at the transitions of the past century, it is clear that although most monarchies around the world have reinvented themselves into a vehicle for amplifying noble causes and charitable work, very few command political power.
In Asia, while a considerable number of monarchs remain, only a handful still have absolute power. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Brunei are among that minority. Most, including Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, have long since stepped back and assumed the role of constitutional monarchies. They have varied discretionary powers and still command the deep respect of their people – but they are not rulers as the word was once understood.
Over the last few decades, moreover, it has increasingly appeared that the reverence and respect shown to today's monarchies have been attached more to individual monarchs, than to the crown itself. After the passing or the abdication of some of Asia's most beloved monarchs, their successors have still retained the respect of their people, but have not been able to command the same heights of devotion shown to the former kings and queens. Part of today's challenge, of course, is that the previous monarchs, like the late Queen Elizabeth, reigned for so long, and with such influence, that the institution of the monarchy became entwined with the person; and the next head to wear that crown cannot match the former image.
That said, a few of the constitutional monarchs – notably those who took the throne within the last few decades, and typically those who are head of state for a less influential government – have still been able to build their own base of political support.
But perhaps one of the greatest challenges to the role of the monarchy is the combination of capitalism and meritocracy – for all that meritocracy was initially conceived as a satirical term. Traditional monarchies, where titles and responsibilities are inherited and can only be accrued by birth or marriage, seem like an institution of the past. In terms of actual power, image and mindshare, or cultural influence, many monarchies have been long since overshadowed by the 'new ruling class' of capitalism: the concentration of wealth and attending political influence that has become an entrenched feature of many modern economies. And in some cases, the monarchy, or at least the associated aristocracy, has merged with that capitalistic concentration such as to become indistinguishable from it.
Now that yet another mainstay of the old monarchy has departed this world, will the remaining socio-cultural influence of the monarchistic tradition continue to hold its shape – or will its subsumation by modern pressures speed up to the point where some day only the most generic pop culture references remain?
GloBalloGic'S aMy HanlonRodEMicH iS noKia'S nEw cHiEf PEoPlE officER Telecom giant Nokia has announced the appointment of Amy Hanlon-Rodemich as the new Chief People Officer of the Finlandbased company. Hanlon-Rodemich would also be joining esteemed names like Pekka Lundmark, Nishant Batra and Melissa Schoeb as the newest member of the company's Group Leadership Team. In her new role, Hanlon-Rodemich will be tasked to transform Nokia's HR function to deliver unique, personalised experiences to employees. Her appointment will be effective from October 24th 2022.
SaP aPPointS BHRiGu joSHi aS diREctoR of GloBal PEoPlE initiativES StRatEGy SAP has appointed Bhrigu Joshi as director – global people initiatives strategy and regional director for people initiatives, Asia Pacific & Japan. In this role, Joshi will lead the global strategy for the newly formed people initiatives function at SAP. Prior to this appointment, Joshi served as director – HRBP, technology & innovation board area at SAP and led the HR business partnering for technology and innovation board area of SAP in India & Singapore, supporting more than 1700 employees (all developers) and 10 CXOs. He is also the co-lead for Future of Work for SAP in the APJ region.
BERt laBS aPPointS SaMEER
RajPal aS HuMan caPital lEadER
Global new age deep tech company Bert Labs has appointed Sameer Rajpal as Bert human capital leader. Rajpal will work closely with the chief executive officer, chief growth officer, and technology leaders to identify requirements for new talent. He comes with close to two decades of experience in strategic and innovative human resource management practices, high performing talent acquisition, organisational change management, performance and competency-based management in India and in global settings.
tHunES aPPointS Matt van GEldERE aS cHiEf PEoPlE officER Global cross-border payments company Thunes has announced the appointment of Matt van Geldere as the company’s new Chief People Officer. He will be responsible for leading the global human resources, talent acquisition, training and leadership, and development, as well as building and maintaining company culture, diversity, and inclusion. Prior to joining Thunes, van Gelder served in various global HR and transformation leadership roles at ad-tech giant Criteo. He also had different global and regional HR leadership positions at Easynet Global Services.
fi MonEy aPPointS PooRniMa KaMatH aS HEad of PEoPlE and cultuRE Bengaluru-based fintech startup Fi Money has appointed Poornima Kamath as head of people and culture. Kamath brings over 20 years of experience in talent and culture transformation to Fi Money’s leadership team. She has previously worked in leadership roles at Microsoft and the Indian bottling arm of
The Coca-Cola Company, where she served as associate vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer. Prior to that, Kamath was responsible for leading global teams during her 12-year stint at Microsoft. She has worked across engineering, research, services, and support business groups across APAC, South Africa, and Europe.
diliP SinHa joinS vEdanta aluMiniuM aS cHRo Dilip Sinha has joined Vedanta Limited's aluminium business as chief human resources officer Sinha, who comes with 24 years of rich experience in the areas of human resource management, will be responsible for heading the entire spectrum of HR responsibilities for the aluminium business of Vedanta in his new role. He joins Vedanta from JSW Steel where he served as senior vice president & head- human resources. Previously, he worked with Reliance Retail as head of human resources, Rajan Raheja Group as group head & CHRO, ASTARC GROUP as group head (global) HR and Future Group, Mumbai as chief people officer.
dRuva aPPointS toM BRown aS cHiEf HuMan RESouRcES officER Cloud data protection provider Druva has appointed Tom Brown as CHRO. Bringing more than 15 years of experience leading human resource organisations to Druva, Brown will focus on empowering a global workforce while ensuring the organisation is best positioned to support the rapidly expanding demand for SaaS-based data resiliency. Brown joins Druva from Coupa, where he was the vice president of global human resources. He also previously had senior international human resources roles at Automation Anywhere, eBay, and Juniper Networks.
ani BanERjEE joinS KnowBE4 aS cHiEf HuMan RESouRcES officER Ani Banerjee has joined KnowBe4, provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, as CHRO. He will oversee KnowBe4’s HR operations across 11 countries and will be responsible for developing new initiatives to enhance the company’s organisational culture, its recruitment channels, and its diversity, inclusion, and equity strategies. Banerjee’s 30 years’ experience in innovation and global HR leadership has been at Dell, Yahoo and AOL, throughout North America, Asia and Europe. Prior to joining KnowBe4, he was at VMware for eight years in a variety of international HR leadership roles, which culminated in his most recent one, as the company’s global HR head for SaaS transformation business units.
HEidRicK & StRuGGlES naMES jonatHan McBRidE aS GloBal ManaGinG PaRtnER of itS dE&i PRacticE Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Jonathan McBride as global managing partner of the firm's global diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) practice. McBride is a former head of the Presidential Personnel Office in the Obama White House. He has also served as the global head of inclusion and diversity at BlackRock where he oversaw the operating committee and held other leadership roles. He joined Heidrick & Struggles in 2021 as a partner in the DE&I practice and chief human resources officers practice, based in Los Angeles.
