From Head-Hunters to Brand-Builders – GEI’s HR Team

At every organization, Human Resources Department is the key strategic function that drives growth. For GUS Education India, HR team has been all that and more.

Headed by Santhi Janapati (Head of Human Resources, GEI), HR team at GEI has been a catalyst in accelerating growth and people practices at the grass-root level. This 10+ members team augmented a massive hiring drive of closing about 1,000 open positions in the year 2021 while maintaining a healthy gender diversity at 43%. In addition to that, there have been commendable people-centric initiatives like the COVID relief assistance, employee mental health wellness services, engagement activities like townhalls, new hire meet and greet, focus group discussion, etc.

HR department at GEI has also played a significant role in raising the brand value of GEI. In August 2021, GEI was certified Great Place to Work (GPTW). It all started with the HR team rallying for the certification, arranging data, filing the nomination, preparing the leaders, overall, driving the entire process. Every year, more than 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries partner Great Place to Work® Institute for assessment, benchmarking, and planning actions to strengthen their workplace culture. Great Place to Work® Institute’s methodology is recognized as rigorous and objective and is considered the gold standard for defining great workplaces across business, academia and government organizations.

Santhi takes great pride in the fact that GEI was not only GPTW certified at the very first attempt but also, raked in stellar rankings in the employee survey exercise. Talking about her experience she says, “Getting GPTW certified was a moment of pride for me and my team. When the results came in, we all were ecstatic. We had earned a TRUST INDEX© Score of 78%! Our employees were our ambassadors of success…they shared a positive response (rated 4 or 5 on a 5 point scale) to the 58 statements of the survey around subjects like the credibility of the management, respect for people, pride, and camaraderie between people. For me, it is a success story that I’ll cherish all through my career. 2021 summed up for me in the form of Great Place to Work certification.”

Emphasizing the role of HR, Sreekanth Yagneshwar, Senior Director - Corporate Services, GEI, says, “HR department’s role in an organisation is as critical as that of a mother in a family – they work relentlessly in the background to ensure that everything is in place, something that is often overlooked or taken for granted by the rest of us. I think I can never praise my HR team enough for all the work that they have done in the past two years. We grew at a rapid speed and the HR team fuelled this growth with their sincere efforts and round-the-clock dedication throughout.”

Madhuri Singh, HR Executive, Recruitment Corporate Services, says, “As a recruiter, my job becomes easier when I have to project the organisation basis my personal experience – GEI - a place where people can work and grow together.”

Sharing her experience about working with GEI HR team, Vidya Sunitha, HRBP, Corporate Services, says, “What I love most about this job is the people that I work with and the freedom to create a way of working that works best for everyone. Every day I’m surrounded with hardworking, professional teams enjoying the challenges and rewards that come with the job. I feel like I am part of something bigger.”