Gargi Mahapatra

Hygraph is a B2B SaaS company, offering a Headless Content platform with federated content features. It operates as a remote-first company headquartered in Berlin, with remote employees from 27 countries employed through EOR.

I joined the company as the first People Team representative when we were about 32 employees, and since then, we have grown to approximately 80 employees. Additionally, I played a key role in supporting the company to secure Series-A and Series-B funding for the company.

During my tenure, I accomplished the following:

• Led the development and implementation of the organization's values and employee experience strategy, fostering a positive work environment.
• Designed and executed an impactful onboarding program resulting in an increase in new hire satisfaction.
• Conducted regular meetings with Team Leads to enhance management practices and foster a culture of feedback.
• Established performance management and feedback processes through employee feedback mechanisms, leading to more effective goal setting and development plans.
• Led engagement survey data analysis and facilitated focus groups, driving change initiatives to enhance employee satisfaction and retention.
• Implemented the HRIS tool and other HR tools in the company based on the company requirements.
• Revised policies, processes, and introduced new benefits to align with organizational goals and employee needs.
• Managed a team of Talent Managers, overseeing workload and performance.

June 2021-June 2022: Senior People Manager

DCMN is a marketing and advertising agency. I joined the company when we had 75 employees, and I witnessed its growth to approximately 200 employees. During my tenure, I played a pivotal role in implementing organizational changes, such as transitioning to a self-organized working model and later reintroducing functional managers.

My primary responsibilities included:

• Managing employee performance and overseeing the employee performance tool, Leapsome.
• Leading employee hiring processes for assigned roles.
• Developing HR tools and processes using BambooHR.
• Collaborating with teams on employee engagement initiatives and acting as a people partner.
• Monitoring KPIs to ensure the success of HR activities.
• Creating, optimizing, and enforcing policies, processes, and frameworks.
• Handling onboarding, offboarding, contracts, and payroll.

My roles and tenure at DCMN were as follows:

• Maternity Leave: July 2019 to September 2020
• People and Organization (People Operations Manager): March 2018 until the end of my employment
• Junior People Manager: June 2017 to February 2018
• HR Trainee: September 2016 to May 2017

Sasken is a specialist in Product Engineering and Digital Transformation, providing concept-to-market and chip-to-cognition R&D services to global leaders in industries such as Semiconductor, Automotive, Industrials, Smart Devices & Wearables, Enterprise Grade Devices, Satcom, and Transportation.

During my tenure at Sasken, the company had approximately 1200 employees, and I was a member of the Business Partner team. My major responsibilities included:

• Executing people strategies to support business objectives and values.
• Designing and implementing various employee engagement activities to enhance employee relations.
• Managing and resolving employee issues, mentoring and counseling employees when necessary, and providing guidance in conflict resolution.
• Providing HR policy guidance and interpretation.
• Conducting data analysis and HR reporting.
• Collaborating with senior leadership to develop, implement, and evaluate HR strategies, policies, and procedures to drive organizational objectives.
• Leading recruiting initiatives to identify, assess, and select top talent that met the needs of the organization.
• Maintaining comprehensive knowledge of employment laws and organizational policies to ensure compliance and consistency.
• Advising and coaching managers in providing effective performance feedback and developing staff.