22 Dec Sushma Naik – Women Challenging the Status Quo | Women in Kale
Despite changing working norms and looming uncertainty women in the corporate world are rising to the moment as stronger leaders and taking on the extra work that comes with this, at par with men at all levels, women are doing more to support their teams and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Kale Logistics Solutions in its dream of building an inclusive workplace places the women workforce on the top of the pyramid. Kale has emerged as a workplace where all women feel valued and their career graphs accelerate. Here is a blog series dedicated to woman power in Kale.
Sushma Naik, HR – Lead
Meet Sushma Naik, the HR – Lead at Kale Logistics Solutions who has been with the company for close to a decade. Right from handling mass walk-in interviews to hiring the right candidates and listening to the grievances of every employee, Sushma has done it all in her unique manner. Most importantly, she has contributed to the automation of HR processes and looks after the end-to-end employee lifecycle seamlessly. In a discussion with us, Sushma is getting candid about her experience of working in Kale and the secret behind her long stint.
From a naïve HR and Admin Executive to HR – Lead
Sushma joined Kale in February 2013 as an Admin and HR Executive and started taking care of diverse things, such as HR, Admin, and Travel Support. According to her, this experience of handling both functions was quite interesting. She soon rose up to the rank of a Lead. Mentioning, the management she says, “they believe in you. Just because you are a junior resource, they do not keep you away from key tasks. They give you the task and motivate you to accomplish your goals.” She further adds, “As an individual, we may not be aware of our strengths, but the organization took the risk of trusting me. When I look back, the thought is very rewarding.”
Working in the sector dominated by men
Sushma strongly believes, Kale is an organization where gender bias does not exist. With all Managers, Team Leaders as well as the Directors being quite approachable, employees are treated only on their merit and not on their gender. According to her, “just because I am a woman, they have never undermined me.” I am given equal opportunities based on my own skillset and strengths. Due to this support, she strived to improve the HR processes and played a crucial role in introducing some very innovative and efficient initiatives for the organization.
No gender bias
In Sushma’s view, “In Kale, there is no gender bias. Each and every task assigned to me was what a guy could have done. But the management here believes in equality and has always encouraged people and not gender. This attitude trickles down the organization, every male colleague in Kale is pretty supportive of their female counterpart which is the foremost attractive aspect of Kale.” She further adds, “I never saw any female employee here complaining about gender bias and that is very important for every woman today. They need equal opportunities, and they want to be seen as a capable resource.”
The perfect work-life balance
Kale as an organization offers enough benefits to its employees. Right from flexible working hours to stress-free work culture, Kale offers it all. Sushma is one of the strong pillar (women) employee of kale and she further says, “Life has been a lot simpler working for Kale, and 8 and a Half Hours of work a day is pretty comfortable for everyone. Also, since the pandemic outbreak, we all have worked from home and many from remote locations (hometown). This hybrid work model exists even today, and it allows them to focus on work.”
Conclusion
Sushma is an inspiration for every woman who aspires to achieve big. The amount of confidence and resilience she has shown so far defines her skillset. In our next interview, we have another women employee who is setting new benchmarks in quality standards in the technical team.