Human Capital Management (HCM) has empowered enterprises to acquire, develop, and retain top talent. Through strategic HCM practices, businesses optimize their talent resources, improving productivity. However, they face challenges in tapping the true potential of HCM practices and building talent strategies that align with business needs. The exorbitant cost of consulting and advisory services is a primary impediment. Furthermore, with businesses expanding globally, embracing new technologies, and witnessing shifts in the dynamics of work relationships, it has become challenging to identify talent partners capable of adapting to the evolving demands of the business landscape. Talent acquisition becomes complex as scaling is required across multiple countries and with timely sourcing of specialized talent for different roles.
Just in APAC and GCC markets alone, there are some 30 million+ growing enterprises, each with aspirations and ambitious growth plans. Creating a people strategy aligned with business and building the right capability at different stages of maturity remains the foremost need in running a business. Yet, there remains a yawning gap between how talent is acquired and meeting the growing talent needs of businesses.
Chandru Pingali, Founder and CEO of SOLVECUBE, a business leader who has worked in some of the best companies in the world, founded SOLVECUBE to consistently support businesses with a talent supply chain that is efficient, effective, and speedy; and to provide structured solutions that demystify HCM. In his 35-year-long career, he has proven his strategic and execution leadership in business and HCM transformation for global businesses. On this foundation of strong HCM expertise, he built SOLVECUBE to solve everything to do with People in running a business. It is a one-of-its-kind AI platform to revolutionize people solutions and talent sourcing. The platform can be used to devise people strategies, execute end-to-end assignments, avail advisory services, and implement talent solutions.
Wisdom from Experience
Prior to founding SOLVECUBE (formerly known as ICUBE), Chandru Pingali's professional journey consisted of diverse experiences, building the expertise essential for his entrepreneurial foray. With an MA in HR from TISS, Mumbai, Chandru commenced his career in the manufacturing and banking sectors. Over a span of 25 years at Standard Chartered Bank, he assumed various leadership roles such as Country Head for Resourcing and CHRO for East Africa, ultimately earning a place on the Board in Nairobi, Kenya. His journey traversed from Mumbai to London, and Chennai to Singapore, encompassing pivotal positions.
Playing a key role in crafting the bank's global HR technology strategy, Chandru ascended to the role of Global CHRO in Singapore, culminating his corporate journey as a Global Director of Strategic Initiatives.
This wealth of experience laid the groundwork for his entrepreneurial leap, as he assembled a skilled team with a comprehensive global perspective for the journey ahead.
“Backed by a strong leadership team, we are attracting a great deal of attention from different stakeholders as a unique one-stop solution driven through an AI platform. Many consulting firms, PE/ VC firms, corporates, and startups across regions have started relying on SOLVECUBE for providing short-term, fractional, turnkey, fixed-term, and permanent roles,” says Chandru.
Globally, substantial investments are made in technology to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of people management practices. An illustration lies in SOLVECUBE's business verticals, where it guides clients through a 5S model for talent acquisition. Its AI platform handles the initial trio of Ss—Sourcing, Screening, and Shortlisting—in a short time, shattering traditional timelines. Yet, the 4th and 5th S—Selection and Stakeholder engagement—remain beyond automation's scope. Human intervention takes the reins to traverse the final mile before engaging talent for optimal productivity. In this model, the fusion of Artificial Intelligence with Human Intelligence provides a comprehensive solution.
Backed by a strong leadership team, we are attracting a great deal of attention from different stakeholders as a unique one-stop solution driven through an AI platform
Bringing a Global Perspective
Having extensive work experience across seven regions globally, Chandru brings a global perspective to his venture. The global roles that demanded an understanding of people practices across 50+ countries provided him a unique opportunity to gain deep business knowledge and implement the best of people practices that generated consistent business results.
Confronting diverse people management challenges globally demanded personalized strategies. In India, he combated elevated attrition rates in the bank's middle offices, addressing issues such as employer brand, role fit, commute, and acknowledgment. By implementing precise solutions, he significantly reduced employee turnover. In Africa, trust concerns tied to tribal differences impacted policies on unions and advancements. Through transparent processes, he restored trust, cultivating a positive culture. In the UAE, executing the Emiratization policy necessitated inventive resolutions, met with openness. Meanwhile, in Singapore and SEA markets, aligning business expansion with workforce planning requires a transnational talent approach. By executing a people-focused agenda effectively, he tackled these challenges, aiding regional business growth.
As for Singapore, the country fosters a unique mix of local and expat talent pools. Actively shaping small and medium enterprises with progressive people policies, it serves as a strategic hub for numerous regional and global companies. Working with start-ups, scale-ups, and established enterprises, Chandru seized a distinctive opportunity to create and implement blended workforce solutions. This involves a combination of short-term, fractional, turnkey, fixed-term, and permanent resources, with skills and capabilities available either onsite or remotely to tackle talent challenges. Collaborating with firms, his company assists in establishing business hubs in Asia, facilitating access to skills and capabilities across the region. It also enables Singaporean firms to remain competitive, growing their businesses at optimal costs.
Aspirations for the Future
As the HCM market continues to grow, leading the charge is, in Chandru’s experience, going to be the prime method to stay ahead of HCM trends and technologies. Through challenging conventional work methods and a relentless commitment to innovation, process engineering, and automation, there can be constant improvement backed by best-practice research. This will result in enhancing both HR functional capability and employee experiences.
"My vision is to create at least a million work opportunities for practitioners through our AI platform. The strategy of a blended workforce, i.e., a combination of short-term, part-time experts with longer-term roles, is here to stay. This involves enabling clients to think differently about acquiring the right skills and capabilities, whether remote or onsite, full-time or part-time. It is about acquiring the right capabilities when they need them, where they need them, and how they need them. Instead of a constant push to bring talent onshore, we partner with clients to rethink their strategies and create future-proof solutions with alternate talent pools," signs off Chandru.
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